Reunion
by addylaide1991
Summary: Mal & Jayne meet someone from the past. Not slash! Canon w/OC. Post-BDM
1. Chapter 1

Click.

The unmistakable sound of a gun being cocked had Jayne wincing his eyes. How in the 'verse had he missed someone sneaking up on him? Gorramit, with all the dead leaves on the ground here a mouse couldn't walk without making noise. It was one of the reasons Mal had chosen this site for the drop. Jayne cursed under his breath. He'd had a bad feeling about the deal Badger had set up for them right from the word go. Gorramit. They _knew_ better than to trust that slimy little puddle of piss. Well, at least he did. Mal was clearly lacking brains in the knowing when to trust others department.

"Drop your weapons, and no one gets hurt!"an unmistakably female voice called out. The cold metal of a gun barrel pressed into Jayne's back. He briefly thought about lashing out and grabbing the gun, but his tensing muscles must have given away his thoughts because the gun jabbed him a little bit harder, it's owner letting out a nasty sounding laugh. "Go ahead dumbass, gimme a reason." Jayne watched out of the corner of his eye as the woman's foot snaked out and dragged his rifle away from his side. The person holding the gun took a step back and ordered the big man to turn around. He slowly got up, hands held halfway up in the air. Mal and Zoe stood just a dozen feet in front of him and to his left, hands also in the air, their eyes glued to the person with a gun aimed at Jayne's back. He slowly turned to face his assailant. His jaw dropped in disbelief. A ridiculously small woman stood a few feet away from him. A large brimmed hat shaded her face, obscuring her features. The long gun cradled in her right hand was trained between his eyes, an overly large hand gun in her left was pointed at Mal's head. She frowned when she saw Jayne's face. "Cobb? That you Jayne? You gorram hun dan, never thought to see you again. Guess it must be my lucky day" she said, eyes narrowing in contempt. She let out a bitter laugh. "I'll be needin' that cash," she directed at Zoe, "toss it over, an' I'll be on my way."

"You know this person Jayne?" Mal asked, "'Cause if you got some business you need to clear up, I don't see a need to get the rest of us involved."

"Gorramit Mal, I don't know her" Jayne replied, his face flushed dark with anger, but an old memory started to flicker at the back of his mind. The woman turned towards Mal and Zoe, squinting a little as the afternoon sun shone under the brim of her hat, showing her profile to Jayne, and just like that he recognized her. "Shy? Damn, I can't believe you're still walkin' an' talkin', girly. Didn't think you'd make it on yer own." Shy looked back at Jayne. "Well it sure as hell ain't no thanks to you Cobb, you dirty rat bastard. You think I forgot what you done? Ain't nothin' short of a miracle I _am_ walkin' an' talkin' after you shot me in the back like that. An' for what?" Jayne glared at the woman. "You stole my money! Some thanks for savin' your scrawny pi-gu! If you hadn'ta stole from me, I wouldn'ta shot ya. 'Sides, was only a graze, no cause to whine about it." Jayne's voice rang with righteous indignation. Shy spat on the ground at Jayne's feet. "A graze? You damn near disintegrated my ribs! An' I never stole anythin' from you you didn't owe me, you gorram hun dan. I'd kill you dead right now if it wouldn't be such a sorry waste o' lead."

Zoe used the distraction of their conversation as an opportunity to make a grab for her gun, but hastily reached for the sky again as the woman shifted the canon in her left hand slightly and fired a shot just past Mal's ear. He yelped in surprise and blurted out "No need to get tetchy lady, we can talk this out all reasonable-like." Their assailant gave him a narrow-eyed look. "I ain't been reasonable since I don't know when, an' I can guarandamntee you I want that coin more'n you do. Hand it over, 'fore I blast a new hole in Cobb here" she announced, waving the rifle pointed at Jayne. "Now hold on" Mal protested, "you wanna shoot Jayne? Can't say as I blame you, like to shoot him myself on occasion. Hell if you want I'll do it for you," Mal continued, ignoring Jayne's vocal protests "but I ain't handing over the money."

In a flash, Shy shifted the long gun to point at Jayne's foot, and fired a shot. The big man yelped and fell over, clutching at his boot and cursing a mile a minute. "There. Saved you a bullet. Now hand over the money." Mal's eyes widened in shock. "Huh," he said, jaw dropping slightly in disbelief. "Well, now, said there's been _times _I'd like to shoot him, didn't necessarily mean right now... And I'm still not giving you the money," he stated, his gaze not wavering from her guns. Shy glanced dispassionately at Jayne rolling on the ground in pain, then pointed the rifle at Zoe. "Mister, I ain't got nothin' against you, an' Cobb here aside, I don't got much stomach for shootin' folk. But I need that money. And I will kill you dead. I'm not gonna ask you again."

A cold wind rustled the leaves on the ground and Shy shivered involuntarily, her eyes nervously scanning the area. In a sudden move Jayne lunged up off the ground, launching himself at their attacker. She leapt back out of his reach, giving him a solid kick in the chin. His teeth clacked hard and he tasted blood, but fortunately for Jayne, her foot didn't carry much impact and he managed to grab her and wrestle her to the ground. Pinning one strong forearm against her throat, he reached out and grabbed her guns, tossing the rifle out of her reach and pressing the smaller gun against her temple. Shy struggled ineffectually against his hold before going totally limp. Jayne grinned at her, his teeth coated in blood. "You're gonna pay fer that girly" he taunted, a nasty gleam in his eye. Shy glared at him before turning her head to the side. "Gorramit Jayne, get off of me, I can't hardly breathe."

Rolling swiftly to his feet, Jayne hauled her up by the scruff of her shirt, gave her a little shake. "Mal, you want I should shoot her? Lemme shoot her..." The captain strolled over for a closer look at their would-be robber. She wasn't very big, about the same size as River, maybe a little smaller even. He pulled the hat off her head and tossed it to the ground, his eyes scanning her face. He couldn't put a finger on it, but there was definitely something about her that caught Mal's eye, something familiar in her facial features. He narrowed his gaze, trying to place her. Jayne had her hauled up onto her toes, the collar of her shirt was pulled up tight against her throat and her face was rapidly turning an unpleasant shade of red. He was about to speak when a communication came through from Serenity.

"Cap'n? Mal, you're about to have company. The local authorities're headin' your way." Kaylee's voice sounded abnormally cheerful for someone relaying such unwelcome news. He watched as Jayne's captive renewed her efforts to escape, still trying to place where he'd seen her before. The big merc hauled her up higher, until her toes were dangling a few inches off the ground and her face tinged an odd purple. Her hands scrabbled ineffectually against Jayne's grip. "Scared girly?" he asked her with an evil grin. "Mebbe there's a reward on her Mal. Could be there's some money in this fer us."

Zoe stepped forward, pragmatic as ever. "Best let her down before you choke her to death Jayne." Jayne grunted in disappointment, but dropped her to the ground where she lay still, apparently passed out cold. Mal poked her with the toe of his boot. Looked like she was still breathing. "Let's move out" he said as he turned and started walking back towards the mule they'd left hidden over the rise. It was a few kilometres back to Serenity. "I'm not keen to meet the local law." "We best hustle then, sir" Zoe pointed to a dust cloud a short distance away, "looks like they're comin' in fast"

* * *

"Jesus!" Mal swore and ducked as bullet whizzed past his head, risking a glance over his shoulders at their pursuers. The mule clipped a tree and swerved to the side, eliciting more curse words and a noisy complaint from Jayne. "How in the gorram hell," the merc groused as he took aim again "am I supposed to shoot," he momentarily lost his balance and lurched to the right "with you flying into trees?" It seemed he didn't expect an answer, aiming again before firing, watching with satisfaction as a man fell off of the hovercraft pursuing them. Another quick blast from his gun and he'd taken out the driver.

Mal slowed the mule to a stop and they all watched as the now pilotless hovercraft spun out of control, cartwheeling across the dusty landscape before coming to a bone-jarring halt. Jayne winced involuntarily as Shy's still unconscious body flew out of the craft and rolled across the dusty landscape, eventually lying motionless on the ground. Mal hopped down out of the mule and ran over to her, crouching down and feeling for a pulse. "Well I'll be damned, she ain't dead" he called out to the others. He rolled her onto her back, gave her a considering look. He couldn't shake the feeling he knew her from somewhere. Probably had seen her on a wanted poster or something like that. But still... Curiosity had him fishing in her pockets for some kind of i.d. He pulled out a wallet, straightened up and flipped through it. No money, but really that was no surprise. He paused at her ident card, read her name. He cursed loudly, dropping to his knees beside her. He brushed the hair out of her face, peering intently at her. Her face was swollen and scraped, and there was blood seeping from a knot on her temple, but he thought he could make out the features of a girl he once knew well in the face of the woman lying at his feet. He looked up as a shadow fell over them. "Sir?", it was Zoe, a questioning look on her face. "I... She... We... I..." he stuttered, at a loss for words. "Grab her legs Zo, help me get her on the mule" he resorted to giving orders, not meeting her gaze. "Sir?" she asked again, but bent down to grab the woman's dusty feet. They lugged her over to the mule and dropped her in the back seat next to a scowling Jayne. "Why we gotta bring her? She shot me. Hell she woulda shot you If I hadn't stopped her" he complained loudly. "I ain't paying' you to ask questions Jayne," Mal answered tersely as he started out towards Serenity. Jayne scowled and cursed under his breath, pointedly not looking at the woman sprawled next to him on the seat.

The bay doors were open for them when they arrived. Mal parked the mule and shut the doors. He pressed the com button and ordered River to take them off world, calling for the doc to meet them in the med bay. With no small effort he hoisted their new passenger into his arms and made his way to the infirmary, pushing a protesting Jayne out of the way. "She's hurt way worse than you Jayne. You're gonna have to wait" Mal turned away from the big merc and watched Simon with anxious eyes as he examined his new patient. "Well?" Mal demanded, unable to contain his impatience. "It's a woman," the doc deadpanned back at him, not looking up from his exam. "Now ain't the time doc, is she gonna live?" Simon looked up in faint surprise. It wasn't like Mal to show such overt concern for strangers. "I won't know until I do some scans," he answered calmly.

Mal waited impatiently while Simon completed his scans, administered some medication and stitched up a long cut on her forearm. Finally he spoke "Looks like a concussion, there was a bleed in her brain, but I've stopped it. And her shoulder is dislocated. Here, help me get her jacket off, I need to see what I'm doing to get the joint back in place." They stripped her jacket off and rolled her onto her stomach. Simon pulled her shirt off her shoulder to get a better look at it. He let out a gasp of horror when he caught sight of her back. It was riddled with scars, but most telling of all was the series of numbers branded on her left shoulder.

"Ta ma de hun dan! She's someone's slave!" He looked at Mal, appalled. "Not any more she's not," he answered grimly. "Look at what they did to her" Simon breathed out in shock, peeling the shirt down her back. The unmistakeable shape of lash marks covered her from her collar right down to the waist of her pants, crisscrossing the skin of her back. "It's all old scar tissue, nothing recent. Where did you find her?" Simon asked. "Let's see to her shoulder doc" he answered back tersely. It took a bit of effort but with Mal's help Simon forced the joint back into position. He applied some tape over her shoulder, and carefully slid the shirt back into place. He took a step back from the table and turned to Mal. "She should be fine" Simon said, "but she's going to have one hell of a headache when she wakes up..." he trailed off as Mal interrupted. "Can you wake her up now?" Mal demanded roughly."Um, no?," Simon answered "did you miss the part where I said her brain was bleeding and…" Mal cut him off mid-sentence "Do it. I need to talk to her."

Simon shook his head disapprovingly and muttered to himself under his breath but did as the captain ordered. The drug woke the woman in a rush. Her eyes opened wide and she gasped in air, fighting to sit up. "Where am I?" she asked in a panicked voice, struggling to get off the table. "Shy?" She turned to face the owner of the voice, wincing at the sharp pain in her head. Her eyes widened as she recognized the man she had tried to rob. She eyed him warily. "Where in the gorram verse am I?" She demanded, her voice rough with pain. She clutched involuntarily at her pounding head, only to cry out in pain when she tried to move her shoulder. "Shy, don't you recognize me?" Mal asked again. Now that he knew he couldn't see how he'd missed it before. Shy narrowed her eyes at him. "What do you want with me?" she demanded, ignoring his question. "You got no cause to hold me here..." she looked around again, an edge of desperation creeping into her voice. "Am I on a gorram ship?" Shy looked around her for something, anything she could use as a weapon. Her gaze landed on a scalpel, but the doc snatched it away before she could reach for it. Shy rewarded him with a dirty look. Mal held his hands up placatingly in front of him. "We rescued you from the sheriff" he offered her a half-truth. "So you could kidnap me?" Shy asked disbelievingly. Mal smiled tentatively, tried again. "Shy? You are Cheyenne Reynolds aren't you?" He held up her wallet and showed her the ident card. "So?" Shy answered defiantly, "what if I am?"

"From Shadow?" Mal continued patiently. "There's nowhere called Shadow anymore, or ain't you heard?" Shy asked in a bitter voice. "I've heard well enough Cheyenne. I'm from Shadow too..." Malcolm trailed off. This was not going as well as he'd imagined. He flinched at a loud thumping noise on the door. "You about done in there?" Jayne yelled from the other side, "I'm bleeding all over the gorram floor out here Mal." He pushed roughly against the door trying to force his way in. "Wait yer gorram turn Jayne. And quit bleedin on my boat" he shouted back unsympathetically. He turned back towards Shy only to find her holding the doc with a scalpel at his throat. Simon offered him a sickly, apologetic smile. Mal sighed. Counted to 10 in his head. "You gonna kill my doc after he patched you up?" he asked her in a weary voice. "Maybe" she answered, her tone mutinous, but she loosened her grip and Simon scrambled in a completely undignified manner to the door and glared at Mal as he made his escape.

Jayne roughly shoved his way in. "You want me ta shoot her Mal?" he offered grimly. "No!" Mal shouted, "I'm the gorram captain of this boat and nobody's shootin' anybody 'less I say so, hear me?" He turned and glared at Shy "As for you? You point a gun, a knife, your finger, anything at one more member of my crew, and I'll be the one shootin' you, dong ma?" Shy nodded tersely, still eyeing him warily. Mal sighed. "Listen, Cheyenne? You maybe got no cause to believe me but..." He trailed off searching for the right words to express his thoughts. In the end he just blurted it out. "I got reason to think you might be my sister alright? My name's Malcolm Reynolds and I was born on Shadow too. Had me a little sister named Cheyenne. Seems nigh on an impossible coincidence that you would have the same name and look about you and not be her." He stopped abruptly, staring intently at her. Shy stared back numbly. "Malley?" she asked faintly, the name rolling off her tongue awkwardly. She took a half step backward, before her eyes rolled back in her head and she passed out again. Mal broke her fall before she hit the floor and lifted her in his arms, placing her back on the table in the med bay. "Simon!" he yelled, but the doctor was already there, peeling back her eyelids and looking at her pupils. He did another scan, administered more medications. "Brain bleed started again. She needs rest captain, I won't wake her again." He turned dismissively from the captain and gestured for Jayne to come in. "We best see to your foot before you bleed any more on the floor Jayne."


	2. Chapter 2

Mal paced in the common room while the doc saw to Jayne's foot. Until Cheyenne woke up, the only place he could get answers from was Jayne. Somehow his big merc knew his sister, and he aimed to find out the details. Simon brushed past Mal without a glance and headed up the stairs. Mal held up a hand to stop Jayne before he could follow. "A word Jayne."

Jayne pulled himself up to his full height and stood facing Mal. "What?" he demanded roughly. Not that he hadn't expected the captain to get all nosy, but he wasn't exactly looking forward to it. "I want to know everything you know about Shy" Mal ordered. Jayne let out a low chuckle, and a lecherous grin spread across his face. "Not everythin', you don't_'_" he answered back, "not if she's your kin." Mal's hand bunched into fists at his side. "Really Jayne? That's my _sister_ in there, you gorram hun dan. I ain't playin' around. You best tell me what you know, or I swear by all that is holy…"

He didn't need to finish his threat, Jayne lifted his hands in apology. "I'm sorry Mal, didn't mean anythin' by it. I know Shy from way back. Bin goin on a dozen years since I seen her last. Anyroad, it's not like I knew she was your sister." He hobbled over to the couch and sat down, lifting his wounded foot to rest on the small table.

"Where'd you meet her? And when?" Mal asked as he paced up and down the room, every now and then pausing to peer at his sister through the med bay door.

Jayne sat, ruminating for a moment. "Well, was a long time ago Mal, not sure I remember all the details. But I found her on Whittier. I was workin' a job and it went south on me. Gorram partner double crossed me, I got tagged in the shoulder and was bleedin' real bad. I came across your sister an' she… Well she helped me out of a real bad situation. So I took her with me."

Mal spun on his heel to face his merc. "You took her? What do you mean you took her? Was it you who sold her to slavers?" He reached for his gun, and Jayne blanched at the fury on the captain's face. "No, my hand ta God Mal, I swear that weren't me!"

"Mal." The captain turned around to see his sister leaning heavily against the door frame. "Mal, don't. That wasn't him."

Jayne slowly got to his feet, a wary look on his face, his hand hovering near the knife in his belt. Shy shook her head at the look on his face. "Jayne, I got no further quarrel with you today. Let's just… call it even." She sounded unspeakably tired. Jayne met her eyes. He nodded in agreement, and left the room, glancing back over his shoulder at the captain and his sister.

Shy watched him go, then turned back to her brother. She smiled at him, though her face was etched with pain. Mal hesitated a moment before reaching out and to pull her into his arms, and hugged her as hard as he dared. After few seconds she pulled away from him. She staggered over to the couch and collapsed with a groan in the same spot Jayne had recently vacated.

"Gorramit Mal, I feel like I got sucked backwards through an engine. What the hell happened? Last thing I remember was Jayne chokin' the life outta me." Mal sat down across from her. "You flew out the back of the Sheriff's hovercraft mei-mei" he said, his voice laced with humour.

"That would explain it," she said as the ghost of a grin flickered across her face. "You took me off world didn't you?" she asked unnecessarily. Serenity's engines thrummed as they travelled through the black.

"Seemed like the best course of action, all things considered," he answered. "On account of we killed two men" he added when she lifted a questioning brow at him. "I need to go back to Deadwood, Mal," she said urgently, her eyes beseeching her brother to listen.

"We're four hours out, Shy. 'Sides, those men seemed mighty keen on locking you up," he answered. Shy smiled a bit grimly at the mention of the Sheriff's men. "Well, I owe the Sheriff a rather large sum, at least by his reckoning, which is why the uh... attempted hold up. But I truly need to go back. He's holdin' somethin' of mine. It's highly perishable and of great sentimental value."

Mal shook his head. "We're headed for Persephone. I'm sure whatever it is you need will be waitin' for you when you make it back. I can take you back myself once we're done our business on…" Shy cut him off mid-sentence. "There's no way you can delay things for a day?" she asked, sounding desperate. Mal shook his head at his sister. "I got folk waitin' on me on Persephone and they're not exactly the understandin' sort if you know what I mean. What're you so fired up about Shy?" Mal asked, genuinely puzzled. "We're well stocked on board, I'm sure the women on my crew could lend you any necessities…"

Shy cut him off again. "You don't understand. He's got my son." Mal gaped at her in disbelief. "You got a kid?" He sounded horrified. With no small effort, Shy stood up and glared at him. "So?" she asked him defensively, "you got something against kids?"

"Not as such… It's just. Well I never would've thought it… Of course, I thought you were dead," Mal blustered, his shock writ plainly on his face. He tried to recover. "How old did you say he was?"

Shy still looked more than a little disgruntled to him. "I didn't. But he's 12. Too damned young to be on his own, and that man is like to kill him if I don't get back. Please Mal. _Please_." she wasn't too proud to resort to begging, not when it came to her son. "He's my baby, and he's all I got in this 'verse." She finished speaking and just stood there looking at her brother, eyes gleaming with unshed tears.

Mal turned abruptly and strode over to the com button on the wall by the med bay. "River? Turn this boat around, we're goin' back to Deadwood. Try to keep us off the radar will you? Don't need any encounters with the law when we get there. And make it as fast as possible, dong ma?"

He turned back to Shy. "He's not all you got anymore Shy. You got me too"


	3. Chapter 3

Malcolm wasn't surprised to find the entirety of his crew gathered in the mess. He paused for a moment in the doorway taking in the scene. There was a meal set out on the table, and they were just starting to serve themselves. It still hurt to see Wash's empty seat, but the sight of the pilot's little daughter, perched in a highchair next to Zoe, always had the power to lift Mal's spirits.

Simon was sitting sandwiched between River and Kaylee, he jumped up when he caught sight of Shy. "You shouldn't be up…" he began, but Shy waved him off. "I'm fine doc. I, uh, want to thank you. Really. Sorry about the whole knife at your throat thing." Simon cleared his throat, and blushed in embarrassment. He sat back down abruptly, reaching out to grasp Kaylee's hand.

Mal made a brief round of introductions for Shy, before gesturing to an empty seat. Shy sat down, careful to maintain as much distance as possible from Jayne, who was staring at her like she had two heads. Clearly he wasn't going to forgive and forget anytime soon. Shy felt a wave of guilt about his foot, but then gave herself a mental shake. Served him right, she thought to herself, remembering how it had felt to be left lying in the dust with a bullet wound in her back.

Mal stood behind his chair for a moment and and looked at his crew. This was his family. He knew they had questions, and they deserved answers. But he didn't know where to begin and truth was, despite his talk with Shy, he still didn't know much himself. He wouldn't until he got a chance to really speak with her. Finding her son was going to have to take precedence.

He cleared his throat and they all turned to look at him. "So… I expect you all have questions aplenty for me…" He trailed off, but no one spoke. "I ain't seen Cheyenne in years, not since…. Well not since before the war. Thought she was dead." He cleared his throat again, trying to think on what else he could say, only to be interrupted by a beaming Kaylee.

"Well I think that's shiny captain, are you stayin' on?" she asked Shy. Shy shrugged her good shoulder, remaining mute. Mal pulled out his chair and sat down, filling his plate with food. "Now don't go pesterin' her mei-mei, we haven't really had a chance to speak as yet."

"Why are we turned around captain?" Zoe asked. The question though quiet, drew everyone's attention. "That ain't gonna sit well with Badger, us bein' late" Jayne growled out around a big mouthful of protein.

"I'll deal with Badger. Already sent him a wave we're runnin behind," Mal said calmly. "I ain't keen to get shot is all" the big merc grumbled, casting a resentful glance Shy's way. "Already got shot once today" he added for emphasis, but no one paid him any particular mind.

"Captain?" Zoe asked again. Mal sighed and put down his fork. It looked like eating would have to wait a while longer. "Shy's son is back on Deadwood. Seems that the Sheriff's got him." Zoe nodded her acceptance of Mal's decision to return, and Shy let out a breath she hadn't known she'd been holding.

"Do we got a plan for gettin' him back?" Kaylee asked Mal. Mal looked down the table at his sister. "We'll need to know the details Cheyenne," he said. "Why's the Sheriff holdin' him? Are you in trouble with the law?" His tone brooked no argument.

Shy wiped her hands nervously on her pants, wondering if she should tell the truth or lie. Brother or not, she didn't really know Mal. Mind you, if Cobb was on his crew, he couldn't be that overly concerned with legalities. She looked at the people around the table. They were so obviously a close-knit crew, even Jayne, who had to be one of the most selfish people she'd ever run across. The fact that Mal was able to inspire that level of loyalty from his crew spoke to the kind of man he was.

Shy drew in a deep breath, and made her decision. "I run cons," she confessed nervously, unsure of what her brother would think. She wasn't particularly proud of her chosen profession, but she was good at it. Mal frowned at her but didn't interrupt, so she continued. "Usually just cards, but lately I've been partnerin' with a lady by the name of Cassidy Jones, runnin' a fiddle game. We'd done this particular scam a dozen times, on a dozen moons, but we sure as hell didn't pick the right victim this time. I always trusted her to pick the mark, an' she had a real talent for it. I didn't know the man we were scammin' this time was the Sheriff's brother-in-law. When we got caught Jones scarpered with the cash, an' left me an' Jesse in the lurch. She got away with all the money."

Jayne let out a nasty sounding laugh, almost choking on a mouthful of dinner. "You never did know who you should trust, did you girly?" he taunted Shy from the other side if the table. Shy cast a dirty look his way. "Guess not. I trusted you didn't I Cobb, an' look where that got me." Jayne just smirked at her, inordinately pleased to hear of her recent misfortune.

Shy turned back to Mal and continued her tale. "Anyroad, the Sheriff, a man by the name of Broughton, grabbed Jesse and locked him up, told me if I didn't make good on the value of the money my partner stole, he'd kill him. He gave me 5 days to come up with 2000 credits. And there wasn't anyone in town willin' to deal business with me, not after what I done. I heard tell of an exchange happenin' outside of town, figured I could do a quick job of it. Well… you know how that ended. I gotta get back to my boy, he had no part in any of this, an' the Sheriff had no cause to lock him up instead of me." She lapsed into unhappy silence. It wasn't easy admitting out loud that she'd been such a fool.

"So what's our plan then?" Zoe asked Mal. He leaned back in his chair and considered. "Seems to me easiest way to deal with this is to just pay up. No muss, no fuss. We walk in, make the deal, we walk out"

"Are you forgetting the two men we killed?"

"I ain't givin' none of my ruttin' money fer some gorram brat!"

Jayne and Zoe spoke up at the exact same moment. Chaos ensued with insults and questions being hurled across the table by various members of the crew. Shy shrank back in her chair. Mal stood up and yelled at them.

"Bizhui!" His voice echoed in the sudden silence. Shy slowly scraped her chair back from the table. "I'm sorry Mal. It wasn't my intention to cause you and yours any trouble. I ain't expectin' any of you to get involved in this. Once I'm back on Deadwood, I'll be on my way."

Mal shook his head. "No. That boy's my family too. I ain't walkin' away from this, nor from you Shy." He turned to the others. "Jayne, no one asked you to give any money for this. I ain't askin' any of you, I'll spend my own coin." He held up a hand to stop Shy when she opened her mouth to speak. "I ain't askin', I'm tellin' you Shy. I got the money, my decision is made" She nodded her acceptance, and Mal continued. "Zoe, of course I haven't forgotten about those men. But I don't see as how the Sheriff could know it was us. It's not like we set down at a spaceport and registered. There's enough Fireflies in the sky that it could have been anyone. So here's the plan: Me an 'Nara are goin to get all fancified. We go in and make the offer. Jayne, Zoe, you guys are gonna get in place before hand, lest the Sheriff has any ideas about given us trouble."

He sat back down and finally started to eat. Shy slowly pulled her chair back up to the table, still looking uneasy. "I don't know Mal, the Sheriff ain't gonna make it easy…" Mal cut her off with a look. "Why you still talkin' Shy? Plan's made."


	4. Chapter 4

Jayne limped down the stairs into the cargo bay, an impressive array of weapons strapped to his body. Mal had the mule at the ready. A last minute decision had Mal changing the plan to bring Zoe instead of Inara, due largely to Shy's insistence that the Sheriff was not likely to be a reasonable man. River had set them down much closer to town this time, though not so close as to alarm the citizens. It was night, and a storm raged outside.

The ride into town was quick and uneventful, apart from the rain. Jayne hopped off the mule and scooted over to conceal himself across from the entrance to the Sheriff's office. "Gorram Mal..." he muttered under his breath as he crouched motionless in the downpour, water dripping steadily off the brim of his hat. Lighting flashed across the sky, briefly illuminating the mercenary's position against the side of a building. "Gorram Shy…" he thought to add, while thunder echoed loudly off the wall he was crouched near. He glanced across the deserted street at the building where Zoe and Mal were negotiating Jesse's release. Jayne glowered into the darkness. Of course he was the one stuck out in the freezing downpour, getting soaked to the bone.

He silently shifted his weight to his other leg, swallowing a curse as the blood flowed back into his injured foot, just one more reason to be angry at Shy. He was getting too old for this kind of go-se. Why he'd had to be the one to wait outside he'd never know. Well actually, he did know. 'Cause Mal had said so, and Shy had given him a look to rival Medusa's when Jayne had suggested that she be the one to act as lookout. Like it was his fault she couldn't shoot on account of her shoulder. A little shiver ran up his spine at the memory of her icy glare. Despite being angry at her, he wasn't keen to fight any further with her. She sure wasn't the same woman he'd known long ago.

The sound of breaking glass and gunfire pulled Jayne out of his reverie. Apparently Mal had given up on negotiations of the talking sort. Sure enough, not two seconds later, Mal came tearing out of the building dragging a scrawny looking kid along by the wrist, Zoe following out backwards, her mare's leg blazing. Jayne surged to his feet, ducking out from his hiding spot, finger on Vera's trigger. Mal yelped as a bullet clipped his arm. Jayne provided covering fire, allowing Zoe, Mal and Shy's brat enough time to duck behind the dubious shelter of a pile of barrels. He ran up the street himself, making a beeline for the mule. A particularly close volley of gunfire had him diving behind a water-trough, immediately rolling into a crouch and peering around the end.

"Are you o.k?" he heard Zoe ask Mal, her voice sounding distracted. She too was peering around the corner of the barrels at their attackers. "I got hit! That bastard shot me!" the captain answered in an indignant tone. On the other side of the street Jayne rolled his eyes at Mal's words. "We hafta get to the mule" Mal muttered darkly as he clutched at his bleeding limb. "Might be an idea, sir" Zoe deadpanned. Shots continued to fly in their direction, although Vera was doing a good job of keeping their Sheriff and his men at bay. At a signal from Jayne, Mal, Zoe and the kid hot-footed it across the muddy street, and jumped in the mule. Jayne continued to shoot sporadically at the men down the road until Zoe pulled up by the water trough. Jayne ran out and took a flying leap, landing hard across the back seat. Zoe took off flying at top speed out of town, heading towards home.

* * *

"Jesse!" Shy cried out when the mule pulled into Serenity's cargo bay. She rushed over and pulled him out of the mule, holding him tight despite the fact her shoulder hurt and he was soaking wet. Jesse buried his head in his mother's neck and squeezed back. "Mom …" he mumbled. She pulled back and held his head between her hands, looking intently into his face. It was streaked with dirt, turned into mud by the rain, snaking down his cheeks in little runnels and soaking into the collar of his shirt. He had dark circles under his eyes and a hungry look about him. The right cuff of his shirt was torn. But other than that he looked the same as ever, bright blue eyes, tousled brown hair in need of a haircut. She hugged him hard again briefly, then frowned when he let out a wracking cough. "Are you o.k. sweetheart?" she asked.

Jayne let out a snort of derisive laughter at Shy's question. He pushed past her, deliberately dripping water off his hat onto the top of her head. She shot him a dirty look over her shoulder and turned back to her son, who was looking a little embarrassed by the question. "I'm fine mom," he answered, dismissing her concern, and pulled out of her grasp.

Shy wrapped her arms around herself and shivered. Mal hopped down out of the mule and gave her a crooked grin. "Everything go accordin' plan?" Shy asked him anxiously, eyeing the oozing wound on his arm. "More or less" he answered back. "So gettin' shot was part of the plan?" she asked skeptically. Zoe smiled and patted Mal on the back as she passed him by. "Someone gets shot around here it's usually Mal" she commented dryly, "don't worry doc'll patch him up." Shy nodded, although she looked dubious.

Mal looked over at Jesse, who was standing a bit behind his mom. He was taller than Shy, though not by much, and skinny as a rail. Kid certainly had the look of a Reynolds the Captain thought to himself, taking in Jesse's brown hair and wide-set blue eyes. "Welcome to Serenity, Jesse," he offered with a crooked smile. "We didn't get much time for introductions in town. I'm Malcolm Reynolds, captain of this boat. Also your mom's brother."

Jesse's eyes widened at that, his head swivelling between his mom and the man who'd rescued him. "Huh. Didn't know I had an uncle." Jesse stuck out his hand to Mal who shook it, then winced at the pain in his arm. "Best go see the doc I guess. Shy, you can get Jesse set up in one of the passenger dorms."

Shy smiled at her brother, stopping him with a hand on his arm when he turned to go. "Thanks Mal. I owe you. I won't forget. And I _will_ pay you back," she promised, her voice sincere. "Mei-mei. We're family," he included Jesse in his gaze, "don't think on it. It's been a long day. We'll talk later alright? Best get cleaned up. You can introduce Jesse to the rest of the crew in the mornin'." At that he turned away, leaving Shy to get Jesse settled in a room of his own.


	5. Chapter 5

Simon carefully applied a weave to the captain's arm. The bullet had left a shallow crease across the outside of his bicep, too wide to be stitched. It was not a serious wound, but no doubt painful. Mal paid little mind to what the doctor was doing, lost in thought. Simon couldn't help but notice how distracted Mal was, and he hesitated a moment before speaking. "Captain?" he started, cautiously. Mal eyes slowly blinked into focus.

"Somethin' on your mind doc?" he asked, his tone making it clear he knew full well there was. Simon started cleaning the infirmary up while Mal shrugged back into his shirt. "It's about your sister. I just… Well I'm concerned. I know she's your family but… " He trailed off. Mal sighed. He had reservations of his own. "I know, you're wonderin' if she can be trusted. Truth is, I don't know. But I have to give her a chance doc, she's my sister no matter what. If anyone on this boat understands that, I'd expect it to be you." Simon nodded his acquiescence and Mal left the med bay and headed to the kitchen. He wanted some grub before turning in for what remained of the night.

He found Zoe at the table, a glass of whiskey in front of her, an empty glass waiting for him. She glanced up when he walked in, her gaze inscrutable. He sat down, and she poured him a couple fingers of the amber liquid before sliding the glass across to him. Mal picked it up and inhaled the aroma appreciatively, sparing a brief smile for his first mate. "Little one's sleepin'?" he asked. Zoe nodded, her love for her daughter plain on her face. "Like the angel she is" she replied. "Two kids on the boat now…" Mal ruminated, "would you ever have thought it, Zo?"

Zoe countered with a question of her own. "So Shy and Jesse will be stayin' on then?" Mal shrugged. "I honestly don't know Zoe. What can I say? I got no notion what to expect. The last time I saw Shy, she was still in pigtails. An' I never in a million years would have thought that little girl would have grown into a swindlin' con artist." Mal answered. "She could bring a world of grief down on us, sir." Zoe pointed out, not unkindly. Mal sighed deeply. Two crew members in as many minutes expressing the same doubts. "I know Zoe, I know…" Zoe stood up before speaking again. "I am happy for you, sir. I just hope this doesn't end in trouble for us." She bid the captain goodnight, and left him to brood.

Mal looked towards the doorway at the sound of approaching feet. He was unsurprised to see Shy walk into the kitchen. She collapsed in a chair across from him, looking as tired as he felt. Mal spoke first. "Jesse settled o.k.?" Shy nodded. "He is. I don't think I can ever thank you enough Mal, for what you done for me an' Jess," she said, her voice sincere. "Gonna tell me just how in the 'verse it is you came to be alive and robbin' me yesterday?" Mal asked in a half-teasing, half-serious tone, trying to set his sister at ease. "I wouldn't even know where to start..." Shy sighed, looking away from her brother. "The beginnin's always a good place" he replied, his tone gentle. "You could maybe start by tellin' me what happened after I left Shadow."

"After you left, " she mused. "Well, what can I say Mal? It was so long ago, an' I was just a kid." Shy paused and took a minute to organize her thoughts, before trying again. "As I recall, all I ever heard those days was talk about the war, and folk seemed confident we stood a chance. But I never paid it much mind..." Shy trailed off, her eyes distant. She turned to look at Mal, her blue eyes looking a thousand year old.

"How'd you get off Shadow, Shy?" Mal asked. "The whole 'verse knows what the Alliance did to that planet. I thought you were all dead."Shy's eyes darkened, lost in memories. "Things were pretty lawless on Shadow durin' the war Mal. Not at first mind, but as time went by and more and more people went off to fight, well… There were lots of bad folk runnin' about, takin' advantage of the chaos. Got to the point where Ma wouldn't let me off the ranch. That chafed somethin' fierce, an' I took to sneakin' off. I got rounded up one day by slavers, just one o' dozens they grabbed. I got hauled off world, sold at auction." She swallowed convulsively. "Young girls fetched a particularly high price. I had no idea why until I got sold." Shy's mouth tightened into a thin line, the bitterness she felt evident upon her face.

Mal swore violently. "Tyen-sah duh uh-muo. I'm sorry, Shy…" Shy looked at him and shook her head. "You can't change what's passed Mal. None of it matters now." Mal looked at her skeptically, his eyes full of anger. Shy tried to explain. "I'm not sayin' there's things I wouldn't change, just… I ain't unhappy with where I am now, dong ma?" Mal nodded. "I was such a gorram fool. And the worst of it was I never got a chance to tell Ma how sorry I was," she finished and stared broodingly at her glass of whiskey.

"How long were you a slave Shy?" Mal asked, unable to hold back the question. "A few years. Ended up on Whittier," she answered matter-of-factly. "I saw the scars" Mal confessed. Shy grimaced. As horrible as it had been being branded and whipped she knew she had in some ways been fortunate. "It might be hard for you to understand Mal, but I know I'm one of the lucky ones. Most slaves end up in the mines, or workin' the terraformin' crews. They don't last years," she pointed out. "My owner, man by the name of Zhang, was a rich core bastard who must've pissed someone off but good to get sent out to a post on a backwater Rim planet like Whittier. He kept us all on a short leash, and wasn't bashful about lashin' us neither." Shy let out a bitter laugh. "Gorram hun dan really got off on makin' folk hurt." She swallowed the remains of her whiskey in a single gulp, feeling it burn all the way down into her stomach.

Mal reached out and grabbed the whiskey bottle, poured them both another shot before commenting "this story's turnin' into a gorram epic, Shy. How in the 'verse did you get away from that place?" Shy laughed, the first real laugh he'd heard her give since they'd sat down. "Now that's a story I don't mind tellin'," she said with a smile in her voice. "See one day, ol' man Zhang got robbed. Bastard didn't believe in banks, kept all his wealth on the premises. I was down in the back of the house one day, could hear a bunch of yellin' an' shootin' an' the next thing I know, this huge man busts through the door. He was covered in guns, I mean _covered_. He looks around at me an' asks what's the quickest way out. So I tell him that it'd be worth my life to share that knowledge, an' he points this big ass gun at my head. An' there I stand figurin' that's gotta be a better way to go than to let Zhang get his hands on me for helpin' him escape, an' I tell him as much. Offered to show him the way if he'd take me with him an' amazingly enough he did. Hauled my sorry pi gu outta there and offa the moon even."

Shy stopped for a second, laughed again. "That guy was a right selfish an' mean bastard, but he saved my life an' for that I owe him a debt of gratitude. He'd been shot in the shoulder, an' he had me dig the bullet out. An' for whatever reason we just drifted along together for a bit. Wasn't expectin' it. Don't think he was neither, it just worked out that way. Course, it didn't end so well. Bastard shot me. But he did try to teach me in his own way how to get on in the 'verse," Shy smiled as she remembered. "Most of his advice leaned towards the shoot first, never mind askin' questions' variety, but still I was glad for it. Hell, he even left me a gun when we parted ways. That was nearin' thirteen years back now, an' I can tell you true that I never thought to see him again, 'til I ended up stickin' a gun in _his_ face yesterday... An' I guess you know the rest." Shy stopped talking, leaned back in her seat and took a sip of her drink, finally done with her story.

Mal had been balancing his chair on it's back legs, and let it slam down as he remarked, "so that's where our no-good mercenary fits into all this", then chuckled at her description of Jayne. "You're right, he _is _a right selfish an' mean bastard..." he trailed off, a pensive look on his face as he considered all that his sister had told him. "What about runnin' cons Shy, how'd you get started in that?" Mal asked, aiming for casual but falling a bit short. Shy immediately got a shuttered look on her face, and Mal regretted bringing it up. To his surprise though, she answered him. "I guess it was mostly just necessity Mal. I didn't really have many skills. I mean, Jayne taught me well enough how to shoot a gun, but I wasn't lyin' the other day. I don't got much will to shoot someone, not even when they deserve it."

"But swindlin' them's ok?" Mal asked, his tone deeply sarcastic. Shy flushed in embarrassment, and tried to explain. "One thing I learned bein' a slave was how to be invisible. People just don't take notice of you when you're property. An' I guess I carried that with me, even after I was free. I started out pickin' pockets, and just went on from there. It was so easy. Folk just ain't smart. It's not like I ever set out to hurt anyone Mal, I was just tryin' to get by. An' then, after I had Jesse, I really had to hustle."

"Best not be tryin' any of that on my crew Shy." Mal's tone was serious. Shy blinked solemnly at him, aware that a line had been drawn in the sand. "I won't" Shy promised sincerely. "See that you don't," Mal said by way of reply.

Shy stood up and stretched, bone-tired and sore from her flight from the hovercraft. "I think I'd best turn in Mal" she said, her weariness apparent in her voice. Mal stood as well. Shy turned towards her brother, took a small step in his direction, then stopped, obviously feeling a little awkward. Mal reached out and pulled her into a hug and finally told his little sister what he'd been thinking since the day before. "I'm so glad you decided to rob me, mei-mei. Best damn crime-gone-wrong I ever had." She smiled at him, murmured good-night and headed off towards the passenger dorms.

Mal crossed the room to the lounge area and collapsed on the couch. A short while later Inara came looking for him, and found him brooding there. "Are you all right?" she asked as she gracefully sat down next to him. He turned towards her, she could see exhaustion etched into the lines of his face, dark circles under his eyes. She reached up and cupped the side of his face with her hand; he closed his eyes. "I'm gonna be fine 'Nara", he said as he opened his eyes and looked into hers, "I'm gonna be fine. I gotta admit though, I am a mite tired. Bed would not be amiss right about now." Inara smiled gently at him, stood up and took his hand as he tiredly got back on his feet, leading the way towards his bunk.


	6. Chapter 6

Morning was not Jayne's favourite time of day. Today though, he found himself unusually wakeful. He'd spent most of the night brooding about his past, specifically about Shy. He really didn't quite know what to make of her being on the boat, he hadn't thought of her in years. One day in her company, and suddenly he couldn't get her out of his mind. Of course, the constant ache in his foot was a good reminder. He gritted his teeth in anger and pain. After a few moments of tossing in his narrow bunk he gave up trying to fall back asleep and got out of bed. He dressed in his usual uniform of t-shirt, cargo pants and boots, and headed up the ladder to find breakfast. When he got there, he found River and Simon sitting at the table while Kaylee cooked over at the stove. Zoe was sitting at the table drinking coffee, her usually inscrutable expression replaced by a smile for her daughter Claire, who was not so much eating her breakfast as smearing it all over her face. "Mornin'," Jayne announced to no one in particular as he wandered over for his own cup of joe. "Hey little Kaylee, can ya cook something' up for me too?" he asked hopefully, ignoring Simon's snort of disgust. Kaylee gave him a brilliant smile. "Sure Jayne." "Shiny," Jayne said as he went to sit at the table across from the doctor.

"Say, Jayne," Kaylee asked cheerfully, "exactly how it is you know Mal's little sister?" Jayne glared across the table at the doctor. The man had obviously been speaking out of turn. All this time on the ship and he still hadn't learned when to mind his own gorram business and keep his trap shut. Jayne smacked at River's hand when she reached out to steal his coffee. "Git yer own Crazy, this one's mine." River stuck her tongue out at him before dancing away to get her own cup. Simon ignored both Jayne's glare and his sister's behaviour and asked, his tone mocking, "better yet Jayne, how'd she manage to get the drop on you yesterday? She's not any bigger than River. Of course, River's managed to take you down before too" he noted with a condescending smirk. Jayne made a move to stand up and reach cross the table to hit Simon, but stopped dead in his tracks when he heard Zoe greet the Captain and Inara. He sat back down with a grunt and dug into the bowl of protein mush Kaylee had placed in front of him. Inara headed over to the counter to make her usual cup of morning tea. Mal sauntered over to the table and sat, smiling up at Kaylee when she brought him some coffee. Kaylee smiled big at Jayne. "C'mon Jayne you gotta tell us! Answer the question?" she pleaded with him. Just then Jesse and Shy walked in, taking seats at the table as well. Mal made a round of introductions to the crew for Jesse, and everyone dug into breakfast. Shy turned to address her brother and Zoe, "I can't thank you both enough for what you've done for me an' Jess" Shy trailed off and reached over to brush Jesse's overly long bangs back from his face, ignoring the fact that he squirmed in his seat. "Mom!" Jesse protested, clearly embarrassed. Eager to get the attention off of himself, he turned to Jayne and asked him, "so what's this question you're supposed to answer anyways?" Jayne gave him a small glare and said nothing, but Kaylee chimed in "We just wanna know how your mom an' Jayne know each other is all".

"Oh," Jesse said. "You know _him_ too?" he asked quizzically, looking over at his mother, only to see her gaze locked with that of the big mercenary. "It was a long time ago kiddo" Shy answered at the exact same moment that Jayne said "weren't nothin kid, we just met a long time ago." They looked at one another again, both remembering the day they'd met. Jayne couldn't help himself, despite his unhappiness with Shy, he gave her a little grin before returning his concentration to his meal, and Shy let out a laugh. "Well I guess it can't hurt to tell, Jesse."

Kaylee leaned forward in her chair eager to hear the story. "You see Jesse, a long time ago I was livin' on Whittier..." Jayne interrupted her "What she means is she was bein' held as a slave by some rich ol' pansy-ass, core hun dan..." He looked straight at Simon while he spoke the words, a hint of meanness in his tone. Shy spoke over him and continued her story.

"Ignore him Jess, those details aren't so important. There I was one bright, sunny day...",

"-dammit woman, it was pissin' cat's an' dogs that day"

"Whatever. So there I was mindin' my own business when in comes this scruffy man..."

"Who you callin' scruffy woman?"

"When in comes this _disheveled _lookin' man..."

"What's that supposed to mean? I didn't have no shovel with me..."

Shy rolled her eyes and tried again. "When in comes Jayne here, bleedin' all over the floor, an' beggin' me to help him escape..." Jayne let out a growl while Kaylee and River burst into giggles. Shy allowed herself a small smile before addressing her son once more.

"In any case Jesse, I agreed to show him the way out if he'd help me, um..." Shy broke off, trying to think of a delicate way to tell her son that she had in fact been a slave in that house, when Jayne stepped in and took over the story. "Listen kid, this is what really happened. I was workin' a job on Whittier, when things went south on me. My partner double crossed me, an' there was a gunfight. I took a slug to my right shoulder, and had ta get outta there fast, I could hear the law comin', so I turn an' run towards the back o' the house. On my way out I find yer ma standin' around, an' I ask her all nice-like..." It was Shy's turn to interrupt. "Jayne, you held a gun to my head!"

"Oh, now that sounds like the Jayne we all know" Simon muttered under his breath, but Jayne ignored him and continued, "so maybe I had a gun in my hand, don't right recall, but anyroad she showed me the way out, an' on account she helped save my hide and was so pathetic and starved-lookin' I took her outta there too. We ran together awhile 'fore partin' ways, on what was that planet girly? Salisbury? Yeah, Salisbury" At that, Jayne resumed shovelling protein into his mouth. Inara made an odd sound at the back of her throat, but managed to quickly school her features into a bland expression. "Our Jayne, a Big Damn Hero, who woulda thought?" Zoe mused. "He left out the part where he shot me in the back. So really not _that_ big a hero" Shy pointed out. Jayne glared at her again, their momentary truce broken. "In all seriousness though Jayne, your differences with Shy aside, it seems we Reynolds' owe you a debt" Mal said. Jayne just grunted as he swallowed his last bite of protein. He grabbed his dishes and walked them over to the sink. Others started clearing up the table. "Li'l Albatross you on kitchen duty this mornin'?" Mal asked. She beamed him a smile and nodded. "O.K., so the rest of ya'll get on with whatever you need to be doin', I got Captainy things to see to. We should be on Persephone in..." He turned to look at River questioningly. "372 hours, 17 minutes, and 56 seconds" she announced. "Right then. I'll be on the bridge if anyone's lookin' for me" Mal announced.


	7. Chapter 7

Where had that gorram kid got to now? Jayne looked around, trying to see Jesse in the clutter of cargo containers, stalls and people that made up Eavesdown Docks. Why he'd had to take the kid with him today he'd never know. Doctor had said some go se about fresh air being good for the child. Jayne snorted. As if this place ever had any 'fresh' air. They were in the middle of a city for God's sake. Still, since Shy had disappeared from Serenity as soon as they docked, claiming some personal business of her own and everyone else was otherwise occupied, Mal had insisted Jayne take the boy with him for the day.

They had accompanied River and Kaylee to pick up some parts for Serenity's engine before ordering other supplies for the boat. Kaylee and River had then declared a need to do some "girl" shopping, and abandoned him with Shy's boy. Jayne had had no idea what to do with the child, and for the most part had ignored Jesse and gone about his own business of purchasing more ammunition. He could have sworn the boy was right behind him.

He strode up and down the docks searching for Jesse, occasionally stopping at vendors to describe the boy in case anyone had seen him. After half an hour Jayne was starting to sweat. If he didn't find the brat soon, he was going to have to back to the ship and get the others to help look for him. At first Jayne thought the boy had just wandered off on his own, but a niggling worry had taken root in his brain. What if Jesse'd been kidnapped? Slavers weren't all that uncommon at places like space docks, although Jayne had to wonder what the hell a scrawny kid like that would be worth. Just as he was about to go and recruit the others to help in the search, he caught sight of him staring in a dusty shop window at the edge of the docks.

Cussing under his breath Jayne stomped his way over to Jesse, his worry turned to anger now that he knew the boy was safe. He slammed his hand down on the kid's shoulder, making him jump. "Gorramit boy, pay attention and don't wander off like that. C'mon we gotta go," he ordered, but Jesse had turned back to the window, staring at something on display.

Jayne couldn't figure out what was so fascinating, the storefront was full of fei oo, broken musical instruments, bits of ancient electronics, housewares and the like. Everything was coated in a thick layer of dust, as if nothing in the display had been removed or added in the past decade. "Whatcha lookin' at kid?" Jesse pointed to a guitar at the back of the display. "That's my guitar" he said. "Mom had ta sell it last time we were here." "So really, it ain't yer guitar then" Jayne answered unsympathetically as he grabbed the kid by the upper arm and started dragging him along the road.

Jayne cussed again, and wiped his forehead with his sleeve. It was hot as hades out today. Persephone was a miserable place during the summer months. Out of habit, Jayne made his way to a local bar, stopping at the door when he realized he had a kid with him. Well, maybe he wouldn't be able to spend any time with the girls, but there weren't no reason he couldn't get himself a few drinks. "You can come in with me, or you can wait out here." With that pronouncement he pushed his way through the swinging doors, leaving the kid to follow or not. He bellied up to the bar and ordered himself a whiskey, sat down to brood, his back to the wall and his eyes on the door.

Outside, Jesse sat slumped on a bench that was pushed up against the wall. He and Jayne had covered a lot of ground today, and while he'd never admit it, especially to the big mercenary, he was tired. He leaned his head against the wall, listlessly kicking his left foot back and forth, stirring up little puffs of dust on the pavement. He silently watched the people passing by in the street. They'd left the area of the docks behind, it was less busy here than it had been back at Serenity.

Jesse thought about wandering down the road and exploring, but he was hot, tired, and very thirsty. He wished he had some money. His ma usually left him some coin, but they didn't have much of anything these days. He thought about asking Jayne to buy him a soda or something, but the man didn't seem to like him that much. Jesse was intimidated by him. He'd also caught Jayne glaring at his mom, when he thought no one was looking. Still, it was hot out here and if he didn't do something about it he'd roast alive sitting on the bench.

He dragged himself up off the bench and walked over to the door, opening it a bit hesitantly. It wasn't that he'd never been in a bar, but he wasn't exactly sure how to approach Jayne. He went in and paused, standing uncertainly in front of the door, blinking his eyes in the dim light of the bar. He couldn't see anything after the brightness of outdoors. He was shoved out of the way by three men coming through the door. He fell to his hands and knees, catching a boot on his head when he tried to get up. Embarrassed, he waited for the men to pass him by before cautiously standing up, rubbing at the side of his head.

Eyes finally adjusted to the light, he stared around the room, hoping Jayne hadn't seen what had just happened. The man in question was still seated at the far end of the bar, a woman perched on his lap, laughing up at something he was saying. His hand was clamped possessively round the whore's waist, and Jesse thought he saw him grope the woman's chest. He swallowed hard, wanting to turn tail and run, but in addition to his thirst he now had a pounding headache. All he wanted to do was go back to the ship.

He plucked up his courage and went to sit down on the seat next to Jayne. Jayne grunted in acknowledgement, gave the woman one last pat on the ass, "sorry, I'll come on back later tonight," he said, his tone regretful. The woman eyed Jesse speculatively. "This your boy, sugar? He's cute...". "He ain't mine" Jayne growled at her back as she walked away, heading straight over to the men who had knocked Jesse over.

Jayne turned to look at Jesse with a raised eyebrow, lighting up a cheroot, and leaning back against the wall. "So whaddaya want kid?" Somehow Jesse knew Jayne wasn't asking him if he wanted a drink, or something to eat. "I just was wonderin' when are we goin' back to the ship?" he said in a very small voice. "What, yer missin' yer mommy?" Jayne laughed at his own wit and the look on Jesse's face. "I'm just thirsty 's all" the boy answered defensively, his temper piqued by the big man's tone. "Well we're in a bar kid, git yerself a drink." Jesse closed his eyes, humiliation washing over him. "But I don't have any coin." He spoke so quietly Jayne had to lean forward to catch his answer. "Ah hell kid. Ya shoulda just said. I'll get you somethin'."

Jayne called out an order of cider to the barkeep, and another whiskey for himself. Jesse didn't have the courage to tell him that his Ma didn't allow him to drink alcohol. He was so thirsty that when his cider came he chugged it down in one go. Jayne watched him with an incredulous look on his face, then laughed and ordered him another. "Slow down a mite kid, yer gonna make yourself sick." They sat in silence for a while, Jesse downing his second drink almost as fast as the first, Jayne for the most part acting as if Jesse didn't even exist.

Bored now that the whore had left, Jayne eyed the pool tables set off towards the other end of the bar. "D'ya know how to play pool kid?" Jesse shook his head no, wincing at the resulting flare of pain. Jayne seemed not to notice and grabbed him by the arm, dragging him over towards the table. The two apple ciders weren't sitting in his empty stomach too well. Jesse felt a little woozy, and nauseous to boot. His head pounded worse than ever, and he knew he was going to be sick. He pulled away from the merc and stumbled, to his horror, right onto the table of the men who had knocked him over not so long ago.

Beer spilled everywhere, and the men jumped up, irate. One of them picked up Jesse and threw him off the table. The man turned when he felt a tap on his shoulder, only to meet Jayne's incoming fist. In an instant the brawl was on. Jayne was outnumbered three to one, pretty good odds he figured. He had one down for the count in no time by breaking a chair over his head. Jayne blocked a punch from another, simultaneously twisting to avoid a kick from the third. Jesse stood up shakily, leaning on a chair for support. His eyes widened when he saw one of the men pull out a knife, but Jayne just laughed. The big merc grabbed a pool cue and slammed it down on the man's wrist. The thug dropped his knife, screaming as he clutched his broken limb. Jayne nodded in satisfaction, and sent the last man sprawling with a kick to the stomach. The poor bastard fell at Jesse's feet, just in time for the boy to throw up all over his head. Jayne laughed uproariously at that, and once again grabbed Jesse, this time dragging him out of the bar, pausing briefly to throw some cash at the disgruntled-looking barkeep. Wouldn't pay to have the law chasing him down.

Once outside he stopped to take a good look at Jesse, and swore under his breath. There was a bruise forming on the boy's temple, his eyes were glassy, and he had puke on the front of his shirt. Jayne wrinkled his nose at the rank smell, wondering if he could possibly sneak the boy onto Serenity without the others noticing. He glanced at the sky, the sun was low on the horizon, that meant Mal and Zoe'd most likely be back from their meeting with Badger. Well, maybe if he was lucky no one would be in the cargo bay when he got back. That just left Shy to deal with. He set off towards home, keeping a grip on the boy's arm the entire way. The bay door was still open, not a good sign. It meant someone was definitely in the cargo hold. Jayne briefly thought about leaving the kid here and heading back out to a cathouse. Not that that would make Mal any less mad. Jayne dragged Jesse onto Serenity, relieved to see only Kaylee inside. "Hi Jayne, Jesse..." she trailed off, taking in Jesse's appearance. "Oh, what happened to you sweetie? You feelin' poorly? I'll get the doc..." Jayne growled in frustration. This was not going to end well for him.

* * *

"Let me get this straight: you lost the kid, took him to a bar, got him drunk, and then got into a brawl. I missin' any salient points, Jayne?" Jayne winced at the anger in Mal's voice. As far as he could tell the only plus side to all this was that Shy wasn't back from wherever she'd disappeared to earlier in the day. Doc had hustled Jesse off to the infirmary, but declared the boy safe. The bruise was the worst of his injuries, his skull wasn't cracked, and he'd thrown up most of the alcohol. Jesse'd have one hell of a headache, but there wouldn't be any lasting repercussions. At least not for the kid, Jayne thought sourly. "Are ya even listenin' to me Jayne? I ask you to do one simple thing. _One simple thing_!"

"Gorramit Mal, it ain't my fault the boy wandered off. An' I didn't know the kid couldn't handle drink. Hell, I was drinkin' by the time I was his age. An' the brawl weren't my fault!" Jayne broke off with a huff, staring at his boots. He felt lower than low, how could he be so stupid? "I'm sorry Mal, ya know I ain't smart about some things... Whyfor did ya ask me ta look after him? I don't know nothin' 'bout kids..."

Mal sighed, feeling more than a little bit guilty himself. Jayne was right, Mal never should have left a child in his care. "Just... Get outta here Jayne, I don't wanna be lookin' at yer ugly mug right now." Jayne stood up tiredly. "If'n ya want Mal, I'll tell Shy what happened." Mal nodded, not looking at his merc. Life sure had gotten complicated as of late. Having another kid on board Serenity was harder than he'd thought it would be.

* * *

A loud thumping on his hatch startled Jayne from his thoughts. He was sitting on the bed, a small box of letters and photos lying on the ground at his feet. He dropped the letter he'd been reading back into the box, stood up and went over to the ladder, pausing for a moment at the bottom. Although the last thing he wanted to do was face Shy, it was unavoidable. Might as well get it over with. He climbed up the ladder, stepping out into the hall.

Shy leaned against the opposite wall, arms crossed, her face deceptively calm. Jayne winced inwardly. He'd seen that exact same look on Mal's face countless times. It was the first time Jayne had noticed a real resemblance between the captain and his sister. Unconsciously, he mimicked her stance, crossing his arms over his chest and standing at his full height. He towered over her. "What?" he demanded roughly, deciding that going on the offensive was the only way to deal with her.

Shy stepped forward and got right in Jayne's face as she started speaking, her voice quiet despite her anger. "Go niang yang duh! You gorram _stupid_ hun dan. You coulda killed my boy today! I know you an' I got our differences Jayne, and you can take it out on me how you will, but leave my kid out of it. I'm warnin' you Cobb, you best keep your gorram distance from him."

Jayne blanched at the menace in her voice. She was a like a mama tiger protecting that brat of hers. Just when he'd thought things between them were starting to go smoother she had to come round and threaten him. He felt his anger and resentment growing, and let it have full reign. '"Jien nu ren! Comin' on board Serenity, actin' like you got the right to be here. Mal might be your brother, but this was my home first! You don't like me? Chiu chu da bien. I ain't goin' nowhere. I don't give a gorram about your brat. You don't want him near me? Fine. He's just dead weight on this boat, far as I'm concerned. I'm here to do a job. You got a problem with how I do it, take it up with Mal. You don't want me near your kid, then best let your brother know, I sure as hell didn't take him with me today by choice."

He turned his back on her and slid down the ladder to his bunk. He listened to her footsteps on the metal walkway as she left. He slumped down on his bunk and sighed. Truth was he really did feel bad about what had happened with Jesse, and having Shy tell him he was stupid actually hurt his feelings. Not that he'd ever admit it to anyone, but he'd always felt self-conscious about his lack of schooling. He leaned back on his bunk and grit his teeth. He reached up and scrubbed a big hand across his eyes, forcing his jaw to relax. If he wasn't careful, he was going to end up grinding his teeth down to little nubs.

* * *

Chinese Translations for pinyin not used in Firefly…

Go niang yang duh: Son of a bitch

Jien nu ren: bitch

Chiu chu da bien: Go eat shit


	8. Chapter 8

The sound of running feet and laughter pulled Shy from a fitful sleep. She'd slept poorly after her fight with Jayne last night, tossing and turning for hours thinking about what he'd said. It hurt far more than it should to hear the man call her son dead weight. She grimaced at her turn of thoughts. All she thought about these days was how infuriating Jayne was.

Shy stretched and groaned, realizing she must have overslept. She got up and dressed, wandering out to see what all the fuss was about. Mal stood on the catwalk watching the activity in the cargo hold. She went to join him, leaning on the railing in companionable silence with her brother. Down below, River and Jesse were involved in what appeared to be a hybrid game of tag and hide and go seek. Their shrieks and laughter echoed off the walls in the cavernous hold. Shy watched in astonishment as River made an impossible leap onto a pile of crates, silently ambushing an unsuspecting Jesse from above. "Wa kao!" Shy said, surprised. Mal let out a low laugh "You don't know the half of it mei-mei. That girl is somethin' else." He turned to look at Shy, a smile on his face. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a wad of credits, handing it over with a smile of her own. "Here Mal, it's only half, but it's a start." He accepted the cash, slipping it into his pocket "Where'd you..?" he began to ask. Shy looked him in the eye. "You prolly don't want to know that," she answered, her tone amused. Mal sighed. "You get in trouble with the law, that'll only bring grief down on my head," he warned, "I ain't fond of complications."

He turned away to watch River and Jesse. Jesse seemed to be holding his own against River. Or maybe it was just she was having so much fun she was deliberately letting him stay ahead of her to prolong the game. Mal hadn't seen River looking so happy in a long while. With Kaylee so wrapped up in the doc these days, there hadn't been anyone willing to just play with her. Of course, River wasn't really a child anymore, but it did his soul good to see her laugh and be carefree, especially after the hell that had been Miranda. He drew in a deep breath and turned back to his sister.

"Listen Shy, I was thinkin' you an' Jesse should stay on. I could do with another crew member." Shy considered his offer. "Another crew member to do what?" she asked. "Well I know you say it' ain't your thing, but you're a fair shot and I could use another gun, someone to help out when we need." Shy looked back down at Jesse. She had to admit to herself that this was a good place for him. Belonging to a crew offered a security she would be hard pressed to find elsewhere.

"I can't promise anything when it comes to shootin' Mal" Shy warned. Mal shrugged. "So just picture folk as Jayne then, you didn't seem to have any trouble shootin' him." Just then the man in question stomped past on his way down to the hold, pointedly not looking her way. Shy's expression soured. Staying on Serenity would also mean living with Jayne. "I'll think on it Mal" she said. He regarded his sister thoughtfully. "This thing with you an' Jayne, you'll work that out, right?" Shy sighed deeply. "I'll think on it," she repeated.

* * *

"Fanty & Mingo got a job for us. Need you to set course for Beaumonde, Albatross" Mal announced a few days later as he strode into the mess. Shy was washing up the supper dishes. Zoe and Inara were sitting on the small couch visiting and playing with Claire. Jayne, River, Simon, Kaylee and Jesse were sitting at the table, playing a round of cards. Everyone looked up at Mal's announcement.

"What kinda job?" Jayne asked around the unlit cigar clamped in his jaw. Mal wouldn't allow him to smoke on board, but he liked the feel of it in his mouth. "Bank heist" Mal answered, as River left to change course. "On Beaumonde?" Zoe asked. "No, job's on Kerry. I'm meetin' with them, gettin' the details, then we'll be off. Zo, if you don't mind comin' along? The rest of you can take a few hours shore leave." Kaylee's face brightened at the announcement. "That's shiny Cap'n. Are we gonna have time ta do some shoppin'? Serenity needs some new parts." Mal shook his head at his mechanic. "Kaylee, you know we don't got the coin for that." Kaylee looked away, feeling miffed. "The grav generator ain't gonna keep goin' for much longer without new parts Cap'n, but that's o.k., you wanna wake up floatin' one mornin', stuck on the ceilin'…" Mal relented with a grimace. "Fine. But nothing we can't do without, dong le ma?" Kaylee rewarded him with a brilliant smile. "An' then we're havin' a romantic dinner out…" she said with a sweet smile just for Simon. He blushed and smiled back. Jayne rolled his eyes at the pair of them, and pretended to gag, making Jesse giggle. The mood around the table was cheerful, with everyone talking about their plans for shore leave. River danced back in and resumed her spot at the table, reaching over to retrieve the chips Jayne had surreptitiously stolen while she was out of the room.

Mal came over to talk to Shy. "You thought any on my offer?" he asked, his tone casual. Shy nodded her head slowly. "Yeah, Mal. Guess if it stands I'll say yes. Me an' Jesse'll stay." Mal smacked his hand down on the counter next to her when he heard her answer. "Shiny," he said happily, and left to take a seat at the table, joining the card game. Shy leaned against the counter and watched the players. Kaylee snuggled up against Simon, making no effort to keep her cards secret from him. Most of the chips were piled in front of River, who sat cross-legged in her chair. Jesse was sandwiched between Jayne and Mal, a look of fierce concentration on his face. Shy could see his lips moving silently and smiled. He was trying to count cards, and was doing a remarkably poor job of it, if his dwindling stack of chips was anything to go by. On the other side of the room Zoe called out a good night, gathering a sleepy Claire in her arms and heading off to her bunk. Inara came over to the table and sat in Mal's lap. He casually looped an arm around her waist, pulling her into a more comfortable position.

Mal let himself relax as Inara settled into his lap, feeling more content than he had in a long while. Most days he didn't know why Inara had stayed on after Miranda, and most days he tried not to question it. Although, he thought, perhaps she had not so much stayed as just not left. There had always been some excuse not to. First the funerals. Then the need for a back up pilot while River learned the ropes. Zoe's pregnancy and the arrival of little Claire. They had never really discussed it, and he couldn't bring himself to ask her outright. Whatever the reason, he was grateful. She wasn't working as a companion any more, although they sure as hell hadn't talked about that either. She'd kept the shuttle for her own, but most nights she shared his bunk. They had tried to be private about it, but gave up when it became obvious that everyone knew. No one questioned them about it, which was just fine to Mal's way of mind. A captain shouldn't have to explain himself to his crew.

* * *

They made landfall on Beaumonde a few days later. Everyone was excited at the prospect of a night off the ship. Simon and Kaylee had had already headed out on the town for a fancy dinner; Mal, Inara, River, Zoe and Claire were all planning to hit a restaurant as well. "Are you gonna come along mei-mei?" Mal asked his sister as he walked down into the cargo bay, waiting for the women folk to show up. His sister was dressed up in skin-tight leather pants and a tight blouse. Mal quirked an eyebrow at her outfit, she was obviously going somewhere. "No, I'm headin' out myself. There's a game goin' at the Red Lizard, money's really too good to pass up." The Red Lizard was a well known bar near the docks, with something of a rough reputation. "Watch your back there mei-mei" Mal warned her, a little concerned, then asked "will Jesse be o.k. on his own? I don't want him breakin' my boat or nothin'. Tell you what, he can come with us"

"Xie xie ge ge, he'd like that." Shy smiled at Mal. "And Mal? I've been doin' this for years. I can take care of myself..." Mal nodded, his sister's words doing nothing to allay his concerns. "Right then. We'll be leavin' this world by noon tomorrow, so..." Shy grinned. "Aw Mal, you don't think I'd run off and leave my boy do you? I'll be back long before mornin'." She gave her brother a peck on the cheek then turned and set off down the ramp, disappearing into the throngs of people in the street. Mal looked up at the sound of feet on the catwalk, but it was only Jayne. Mal was a bit surprised he was still on board, but glad to see him. "Jayne?" His merc looked down at him. "You mind doin' a bit more work tonight?" Jayne frowned "But Mal, I's on my way out, there's this girl…" Mal interrupted Jayne's whinge, tossed him a small bag of coin. "This'll make it worth your while. Head on over to the Red Lizard, keep an eye on Shy for me. Don't let her know I sent you, dong ma? An' when she's back on board safe you can go see your girl." Jayne scowled. The last thing he wanted to do was spend the evening watching Shy. But the bag of coin had a nice heft to it, so he nodded brusquely, and headed out in the direction Shy had gone. Mal smiled to himself. He maybe couldn't stop his mei-mei from going out, but he could make sure she stayed safe. He sat down on a crate, waiting for the rest of his ladies to put in an appearance.

* * *

Shy swiftly made her way through the streets towards the Red Lizard. It was not exactly what one would call a respectable establishment. This close to the docks, the clientele at any of the bars was bound to be colourful. The Red Lizard was no exception. Shy breathed in deep, loving the smell of the air. It was good to be planetside, and nice to not have to worry about Jesse. In no time she had joined in a game of cards. Hours passed, people joined and left the table, and the pile of chips by her hand steadily grew bigger. Shy sipped slowly at her whiskey, not wanting to dull her senses. It didn't pay to be unaware in a place like this. Eventually Shy quit the game. She cashed in her chips, and went to sit at the bar, ordering another drink.

A ruckus at the pool tables over on the other side of the room caught her attention. Was that Jayne? Oh yeah. Jayne and a couple of men, exchanging angry words over a whore. Charming. The lady in question turned and flounced off, leaving all three men to their argument. Shy half expected it to come to blows, but another working girl came up and wound her arms around Jayne's arm, pulling him towards the bar. Shy wrinkled her nose in disgust. Jayne's habits obviously hadn't changed at all in the years since he'd left her. Shy chastised herself mentally. Why did she even care? It was none of her business, it was just that... While she'd been lost in thought, Jayne and his lady friend had made it to the bar. Jayne spotted her and slowly dropped his arm from around the whore's waist. "Shy", he growled by way of greeting.

Shy swallowed the last of her whiskey in a single gulp, grimacing in distaste as it burned all the way down to her gut. Jayne misinterpreted the look on her face, and his jaw tensed with unhappiness. "Gorramit, you don't gotta look at me like that, Shy. I got as much right to be here as you." Shy frowned at him. "Look at you like what?" she demanded, genuinely puzzled. Jayne sighed and scrubbed a hand over his face. He was getting unspeakably tired of the constant verbal war with her. He turned towards the whore and whispered something in her ear. She pouted at him and headed off down the bar, looking back over her shoulder as she went. Jayne addressed Shy again. "Look, can't we just, I dunno, call a truce or somethin'? I'll say I'm sorry if it'll make you less crotchety. I'm sorry. There, I said it."

Shy blinked at him, unsure to what to say. "For what?" she asked, her voice laced with suspicion. Jayne shrugged his shoulders in frustration. "I dunno. For whatever got you so mad at me. Sorry I shot you. Sorry I got your boy drunk. Hell, I'm sorry for whatever the next thing I do that pisses you off is. You never used to be such a mu lao hu." He broke off, stood there staring at her unhappily. "We used to get on Shy-girl, don't you remember? We had some good times too, didn't we?" Shy nodded her head slowly in agreement. It was true, they had had their good times. It had been so long since she'd let herself think on them, she'd almost forgotten. She looked down into her empty glass, momentarily lost in thought.

"You want another drink girly?" Jayne asked, interrupting her thoughts. She looked up at him, still standing next to her. "No, I'm just on my way back Jayne. Sorry to have interrupted your... date." She didn't bother to hide the condemnation in her voice. Jayne's lips thinned in offence, but in the spirit of not fighting with her any longer he let it slide. "I'll walk ya back then Shy-girl" he offered. Shy raised her eyebrows. "No need Jayne, think I can find my way." Jayne ignored her, following on her heels towards the door. "Mal'd have my hide if he knew I'd let you walk alone. Rough neighbourhood 'round here Shy. I'd do the same for Kaylee or 'Nara or River." Shy gave him a pointed look, but he didn't back down. Whatever, it was no skin off her nose if he wanted to walk her back.

They collected their weapons on the way out, Jayne quickly strapping on an impressive arsenal. Shy watched an amused glint in her eye despite her conflicted feelings about the man. "Some things never change," she muttered under her breath. Jayne looked up at her. "What?" he asked, his tone defensive. "You look almost exactly like you did the first time I saw you back on Whittier, only maybe a bit… bulkier" Shy finished. "Hey, I ain't fat!" Jayne protested. "Never said you were, Jayne. I just meant you're bigger. As in bigger muscles" she clarified, because Jayne was still looking confused. "You like my muscles girly?" he asked with a sly grin, flexing his bicep for her. She smiled despite herself. "Always did Jayne, always did." Shy stepped out into the street, leaving Jayne standing in the entrance with a dumbfounded look on his face. He took a few quick steps to catch up, falling into step just behind her, his eyes on her backside as he admired the fit of her pants. Damn, he never would have expected the scrawny teenager Shy had been to grow into such a shapely woman. Not that he'd let her lack of curves stop him back then but…

"Jayne, quit starin' at my ass." Shy didn't even look back at him. How did women do that anyways? It was like they had eyes in the back of their heads. "I weren't starin' at nothin', girly" Jayne denied, " 'sides you started it by lookin' at my muscles". "Uh-huh" Shy answered in a bored sounding voice, not looking Jayne's way when he stepped up to walk alongside her. In a few moments they were back at the ship, Jayne following Shy straight in. "You're not goin' back to the bar?" Shy asked. She thought Jayne would be heading back to pick up where he had left off with his whore. "Nah" he shook his head, not meeting her gaze. "It's been a long day, I'm just gonna hit my bunk."

Shy gave him an odd look but wished him goodnight and headed off towards the passenger dorms. Jayne watched her go. He hoped the peace between them would last. Probably not, but he hoped. It was pretty clear that Shy and her boy were here to stay. Life would just be easier if they got along. Jayne briefly debated with himself about heading back to the bar again and finding that whore who'd been dogging him all night. But seeing Shy all dressed up in them tight pants had his mind on her now. He reached down to adjust the fit of his own pants. He'd spent the entire night keeping an eye on Shy. Shy and her gorram tight pants. Jayne wondered what was wrong with himself. It wouldn't be hard to find a willing girl at any of the local bars, but somehow he just couldn't work up the will. He shook his head at his stupidity and headed for his bunk.

* * *

Chinese translations

wa kao: holy crap!

xie xie: thank you

ge ge: older brother

mu lao hu: literally tigress, an angry woman

* * *

A/N: Thanks for reading and thanks to everyone who has taken the time to review. Sorry things have slowed right down on this, life is ridiculously busy... I started this story years ago and never finished it, so I'm now starting new chapters. It's bound to take a bit of time...


	9. Chapter 9

Mal spent the following morning sequestered on the bridge with Zoe, going over the information that Fanty and Mingo had given them, trying to hammer out a feasible plan. Claire played happily at their feet, toddling around the console and banging Wash's toy dinosaurs on the floor. "I just don't see how we're goin' to get in without alerting the feds," Zoe argued. "Even if we manage it, how in the 'verse do you think we'll get away without them noticing? Sir," she added on, her voice ringing with skepticism despite her deferential use of the title. He could always count on Zoe to point out the gaping holes in his plans. "It's just too dangerous" she insisted. Mal smothered a sigh. He felt Claire scrambling over his feet, she grabbed his pant leg to steady herself. She stood on top of one of his big brown boots, clinging to his knee, swaying slightly on her tiny feet. She offered him a drooly smile, her blue eyes shining with trust, and he couldn't stop himself from smiling back at her.

He reached down and pulled her into his arms, giving her a cuddle. He looked across at Zoe, and caught a fleeting glimpse of sadness in her eyes. He was suddenly acutely reminded that out of all of them she had paid the highest price that day on Miranda, and had better reason than any of them to avoid unduly dangerous jobs. Claire reached her little arms out to her mother and Mal passed her over. "You really think it can't be done?" he asked seriously. Zoe gazed down at her daughter for a long moment. She finally spoke. "We'll need a really good distraction, something to keep the feds occupied." Mal nodded, satisfied she was behind the job. He mulled over her words. A diversion. How hard could it possibly be to come up with something to piss off the feds and keep them busy for a couple of hours?

* * *

Mal was still wrestling with a workable plan by the time the crew gathered for dinner that night. He was silent through much of the meal, lost in thought. He looked up when Inara nudged him in the side, and realized he'd missed a question. "What?" he asked, eyes scanning the table. He wasn't even sure who had been speaking to him.

"The job on Kerry," Simon repeated, "do we have a plan?" Mal frowned. "I'm workin' on the details," he said, reaching for a basket of bread in the middle of the table. "Near as I can tell there's only one small hitch in the matter," he admitted. "Bank's right next door to a federal substation." That particular announcement brought a wave of protest from the assembled crew. "Gettin' in the bank should be easy," Mal said, "gettin' in without bein' noticed? Now that's gonna be tricky." He turned to address River. "The vault has it's own dedicated alarm system. I'm countin' on your genius brain to override it without trippin' any alarms. Fanty and Mingo gave us the specs." River nodded calmly in acceptance, while Simon grimaced in displeasure. "What about the feds?" he demanded angrily. "Don't get your panties in a twist doc, I got a plan for that too. Sort of." Mal answered. He looked at Jayne. "I need you," he included Shy in his gaze "an' Shy to provide us with a diversion." To his surprise, neither of them voiced any objection to working together. He'd thought for sure that would be a sticking point.

"What did you want for a diversion?" Shy asked, curious. "Maybe you and Jayne could get into one of your arguments outside the substation," Simon said facetiously, eliciting a laugh from everyone but Jayne and Shy. "That's the details I'm still workin' on," Mal admitted when the laughter died down. "You folk have any thoughts on what would draw 100 feds out of a substation, now would be the time to speak up." They bandied about several suggestions, each one more ludicrous than the last, all of them discarded as either being ineffective or too dangerous.

Fed up and angry at the prospect of his sister getting so close to the people he'd spent so long running from, Simon got up from the table. "Why don't we just drop a bomb on them?" he shouted angrily before stomping from the room. "I'm sorry Cap'n" Kaylee apologized, wincing in embarrassment over Simon's behaviour. Mal looked thoughtful. "That actually ain't a bad idea" he said to his mechanic. "It ain't?" she asked hopefully. "Jayne, you got anything that'd make a big boom?" Mal asked. "Yeah, but I ain't takin' it into a cop shop Mal, that'd be suicide," Jayne protested. "Can't blow up the substation Jayne, even if we could manage it that'd only bring everyone runnin' to exactly where we don't want 'em. But we set an explosion on the other side of town? That's bound to get their immediate attention. We just need the right target." Mal leaned back in his seat, a satisfied look on his face.

* * *

Simon cornered Mal on his way out of the mess. "I don't want her to go" Simon insisted. His normally neat hair was dishevelled from running his hands through it, and his face was flushed with anger. Mal cut him off with a pointed look. "I am gettin' mighty tired of havin' this conversation with you doc. I ain't askin' your permission. River's…" he started to say, but Simon spoke over him, his voice louder than before. "This job's too risky. She's supposed to be the pilot now!" Mal narrowed his eyes at his medic. "An' she does a fine job of it too. But we need her genius skills for this job. Inara's gonna pilot Serenity, River's comin' with us. She ain't a child anymore, and no one rides for free on this boat." The sound of Claire's laughter floated out from the mess. "Well, exceptin' the little one," he amended. At that Mal pushed past Simon and walked away, leaving the disgruntled doctor behind him.

Mal strode up the hall to the bridge. River and Inara sat chatting quietly. "He worries" River stated calmly as he walked in. By now, the crew was so used to her reading abilities that Inara didn't even blink at the non-sequitur in their conversation. "Thank you for not listening to him. Your plan is solid" River added with a little smile for the captain. He perked up at that statement. "You know somethin' we don't?" he asked her hopefully. River shook her head no. "It's a logical plan." Mal grunted in reply, and went over to stand behind the copilot's chair. He cupped his hands on Inara's shoulders, giving her a gentle massage.

Inara glanced at him questioningly, he smiled and motioned for her to get up. He took her seat, dragging her back down to sit in his lap. "How much longer, li'l Albatross?" he asked his pilot. "Twelve hours," she answered without looking his way. "You go on take a break, I got the bridge for now." Mal let out a deep sigh as he watched his pilot go. "Is there something on your mind?" Inara asked him quietly, sensing his troubled mood. He started to shake his head no, but then burst out, "It's this job 'Nara. Too many gorram things to go wrong, and now I got Simon complainin'." He lapsed into silence. "You could just walk away from it Mal," Inara pointed out. "Pay stands to be significant, things go well" Mal commented, but he still looked troubled. Inara let out a small laugh. "Mal, when do your crimes _ever_ go according to plan?" Mal frowned at her, clearly affronted. He opened his mouth to speak, then closed it when nothing came to mind. He thought furiously for a moment, his brow creased in concentration, trying to remember the last time something _had_ gone as planned. "When we stole the Lassiter!" he said triumphantly.

Inara rolled her eyes and laughed. "Right. When your ex-wife tried to double-cross you and left you stranded stark naked in the middle of the desert. That was a truly cunning plan, Mal. Never mind you never would have found a buyer for the piece without my help." The captain pulled a face at her. She had a point. Most often they ran into a snag or two, but he didn't have to admit it. "At least we planned for her double crossin' us." he said, his tone wounded. Inara smoothed a hand over his hair, trying to soothe his injured pride. Mal looked away. "It's just if it don't go right we'll be well and truly humped," he admitted. Inara shifted so she was facing him fully."Cheer up Mal. Things might not always go as intended, but you always come through." She leaned forward, brushing her lips softly over his, and all thoughts of the job fled his mind.

* * *

Jayne used his rifle sight to scope out the warehouse from the top of a low rise just to the west of the city. It was Simon who had suggested the mining supply warehouses on the edge of the city as a target. The mines were the primary economy on Kerry, and a source of tremendous wealth for the companies that owned them. A well placed explosion was bound to bring security forces running. The building they'd chosen was right on the edge of the industrial section of town, bordered by desert on two sides.

The sun beat down, baking the earth to a stone-hard crust. The only thing growing out here was scrubby, sharp-edged dry grass, mostly dead by the look of it, and low growing cacti with treacherously sharp needles. Jayne was nestled in a hollow, trying to keep as low a profile as possible even though there was no one visible from his vantage point. Shy was concealed a short distance away from him, lying as still as a stone. A derelict chain link fence surrounded the building, razor wire sagging along the top. He could easily spot a dozen places where the fence itself had holes big enough to walk through. Gaining access to the outside of the building should be a breeze. This time of day there was some activity in the area, although not at the building they were targeting. He was hoping by nightfall there would be no one around.

A shift in the breeze carried the faint scent of soap and woman to his nostrils. He glanced over to look at Shy. She had a pair of binoculars glued to her face as she surveyed the scene as well. "Whaddaya think?" she asked him quietly. "Should be an easy enough job to get in" he answered back, "See there, in the left corner? Window's busted. That's our way in if we can't use the door." Shy shifted her binoculars to look where he pointed. "Thought your contact said there wasn't any security on this place." Shy said quietly. Jayne shrugged. "He said it weren't bein' used an' we'd be free an' clear if we could get in." Shy squinted, scanning the building again. "Well there's security outside" she answered shortly.

"The fence? Shy look at them holes. A blind man could find his way through!" Shy rolled her eyes in irritation."Sha mao! Not the fence, look over there by the corner of the building, see that box?" Jayne scanned the structure. "No," he said, sounding puzzled. "There," she pointed again. "I don't see nothin' " he said, an edge of frustration creeping into his voice. Shy reached over and physically turned his head. "There! See it now?" Jayne felt a shiver run down his spine at her touch. He shifted restlessly to cover up his reaction. "Yeah, I see it now. So what?" Shy shook her head in disgust. "Ban piung zuh tsu. How in the gorram hell are you not dead yet?"

Jayne scowled at her. "I got big guns, an' I ain't afraid to use 'em, that's how. There ain't no call to be so insultin' Shy!" Jayne clenched his jaw. Here he was fighting with Shy again, just when things were going so smooth. He just couldn't seem to win with her. "Who cares about some box anyroad?" Shy shook her head at the big man. "It's part of the alarm, there's another down that end too, see it? They're sensors. Look where they're aimed. It's a really basic system, we belly-crawl in so we're under their range, we should be fine." Shy lowered the binoculars to look at him. "Don't it seem odd to you that the system's so low-tech?" she asked. He shook his head at the question. "Nah, don't look like anyone's used this place in a while. 'Sides, think about it Shy. You put somethin' fancy on a place like this, might as well put a flashin' sign on it sayin' gway jong oo peen."

* * *

They waited until after sunset to make their move. Shy stealthily followed Jayne down the hillside, moving carefully so as not to make any noise. The area was quieter now than it had been during the day, but some of the neighbouring buildings were better protected than this one, with security patrols and decent lighting. Shy squeezed through an opening in the fence, waiting patiently for Jayne to wriggle his way through. "Gorramit Shy, could you maybe have picked a smaller openin'?" he groused under his breath. "Quit bein' such a baby Jayne. Remember, keep low" They crept slowly across the expanse covered by the sensor. Jayne cussed when he crawled right over a cactus, getting several thorns imbedded in his arm. He heaved a sigh of relief when the made it to the actual building without triggering any alarms.

Up close, the building didn't seem in as bad condition as it had from a distance. Although the paint was faded and peeling, the locks on the doors looked solid. Shy bypassed them completely and headed for the window Jayne had spied earlier. "Gimme a boost Jayne" she whispered. He grabbed her around the waist and hefted her up into the air. She grabbed onto the ledge, pushed the window open and hauled herself in. Jayne heard a muffled thump and a quiet curse. He jumped up and pulled his body up onto the ledge. The interior of the warehouse was a deep inky black, he couldn't see Shy anywhere. "You ok Shy-girl?" he whispered into the dark. Not waiting for an answer, he swung his long legs in and jumped. The drop was significantly farther than he had anticipated and he stumbled when he hit the ground. He got up and looked around, trying to find Shy. He flipped on a small light, carefully shielding the beam so as not to light up the windows. Shy sat a couple of feet away, a pale shadow in the darkness, rubbing her elbow, a grouchy expression on her face.

"Let's just get this done and get gone," Shy whispered. Jayne pushed his way past her. "Sure are a lot of crates in here for an empty warehouse" she remarked. "Who cares?" Jayne asked, already making his way to the far side of the building. "Let's set the charges. Mal an' them are waiting' on us." He quickly set about setting the explosives around one of the main support columns of the building. He worked swiftly, while Shy held the light for him to see by. He set the timer for five minutes, plenty enough time for them to clear the building. It wasn't a large bomb, just big enough to collapse the corner of the structure in on itself and start a nice fire to burn the rest.

As he stood up and turned to leave he caught sight of the writing on the side of one of the crates Shy had asked about earlier. He suddenly felt all the blood drain from his head. Explosives. The warehouse was full of gorram explosives. They were gonna have to get a hell of a lot further away than he'd originally planned. "Shy," he said in warning tone, "we gotta run girly." She stared blankly at him. "Now gorammit! Move!" He grabbed her hand and dragged her behind him towards the closest door. Barely breaking stride, he shot the lock out and burst into the night. He plowed across the field, setting the alarm to screaming behind them. Shy's hand tore out of his grasp, she'd tripped and fallen. His stride was so long he'd traveled several meters by the time he realized what had happened. He turned around and hauled her back on her feet, losing precious seconds in his race to get away from the imminent explosion.

His long legs ate up the ground as he ran a fast as possible up the rise behind the warehouse. His big hand was clamped around Shy's in a death grip, and she struggled to keep up without tripping again, her lungs burning with exertion. Jayne kept his eyes on his target with the single-minded focus of a man who knows that it offers the only salvation. The shuttle they'd come in was the only thing nearby that might shield them from the blast. He mentally calculated the distance left. Two hundred meters. One hundred. Twenty-five. Ten. He hauled Shy in front of him and threw her to the ground behind the shuttle, slamming down on top of her just as a double explosion ripped through the warehouse behind them, a one-two punch that happened so quickly it might as well have been a single detonation. From his prone position he couldn't so much see as feel large chunks of debris slamming into the ground. A huge wave of heat and dust enveloped them, leaving Jayne choking for breath.

The silence following the blast was deafening. Or maybe it was just the ringing in Jayne's ears that blocked out all other sound. As the worst of the dust subsided he got to his feet, waving a large hand in front of his face in a futile attempt to clear the air. He dragged Shy to her feet too, eyeing her critically. "You alright?" he asked gruffly. Shy nodded, coughing so harshly she doubled over. Jayne staggered around to the other side of the shuttle, stumbling over chunks of concrete and steel thrown by the blast. As the air slowly cleared he could make out a crater where the building had once stood. Long spears of metal stuck out of the earth at strange angles, creating the illusion of a large mouth full of jagged fangs. Tongues of flame burned high into the sky, eerily lighting up the dust still hanging in the air.

He turned back to look at the shuttle. Lit by the wash of flames down at the bottom of the hillside, he could see that the surface was scorched by the heat. By some miracle, nothing too large seemed to have hit it. Apart from a few dents and scratches it appeared to be largely intact. He grunted in satisfaction. The distant sound of sirens caught his attention and Shy appeared around the side of the shuttle. Her entire body was coated in a fine, light coloured dust, including her hair, making her glow in the dark. He laughed at the sight of her and she frowned at him. "Time to get outta here Cobb, 'less you wanna get pinched." He nodded in agreement and opened the shuttle doors, quickly powering it up so they could head to the rendezvous.

* * *

The muffled sound of an explosion echoed through the dark.

Mal smiled, glancing at Zoe. "Right on cue.." As he spoke, a second, much larger explosion ripped through the night. The captain instinctively ducked as a large ball of fire erupted into the night sky, casting an orange glow over the city. "Shen muh niao!" he breathed out in shock. "Don't recall that bein' part of the plan" Zoe remarked dryly. "Well, it seems to be workin'," Mal pointed out. Sirens split the night, screaming loudly in the air as a barrage of vehicles left the federal substation, all headed towards the far side of town. Mal slowly edged his way to the end of the alley, watching up and down the street for any activity. A siren still sounded at the substation, but no more vehicles appeared to be forthcoming.

"Ready little Albatross?" he asked River. Her eyes gleamed in the dark, and she gave a small nod. As one, they left the shadowed alley way and crossed to the bank located next to the substation, slipping around the back. Everything appeared deserted. A solitary security light glowed orange over the rear entrance to the bank. Mal shot it out, the only sound a muffled pop. Silently, River reached out and laid her palm flat on the door. She closed her eyes and leaned against the door. "Two guards." She paused for a moment, then added, "They're heading this way." Mal and Zoe exchanged a look, and nodded, moving swiftly to either side of the door. River reached out and knocked. Seconds later the door slid open, revealing a puzzled looking night guard. Mal reached in and dragged him to the ground, smashing the butt of his gun against the back of the guard's skull with a sickening crunch. Zoe aimed her gun in the face of the other guard before he even had a chance to reach for his weapon. Seconds later, he was lying on the ground next to his partner, bound with his own handcuffs and gagged. They left the men leaning against the wall and headed into the bank proper.

River led the way, walking on silent feet down the hall towards the vault. Mal drew up short at the sight of the elaborate security system used to secure the valuables inside. "I hope you know what you're about River" Mal remarked. "Why aren't there more guards?" Zoe wondered aloud. She scanned the area, looking for hidden cameras, or anything else that might give them away. Mal shrugged. "Must count on their bein' next door to the feds to keep folk out. Only a crazy person would try an' rob this place," he answered, his attention on River who had opened an access panel and attached a small device to it. Her fingers flew across the screen, keying in sequences and numbers faster than he could follow.

Somewhere in the building, something started beeping. He glanced at the door to the vault only to see a small red light had begun blinking next to the handle. "River" he warned, his voice full of apprehension. She ignored him completely, still working furiously on the device she held in her hand. Mal started to sweat, and he noticed Zoe glancing around nervously. Even with the diversion Jayne and Shy had provided on the other end of town there would still be feds at the substation. If an alarm went off in the bank they wouldn't have a hope in hades of getting away in time. He motioned to Zoe, who with gun in hand crept towards the front of the bank to look out the windows. "Nothing, sir" she called out softly. Abruptly, the beeping stopped. The red light blinked one last time before turning a bright lime green. An instant later there was a soft snick, and the door to the vault swung silently outwards. River shot a triumphant look at Mal, and ghosted through the open door.

The vault itself was lined on two sides with safety deposit boxes, the third being taken up by racks for storing money. Mal glanced at the bundles of cash but ignored them. Their serial numbers would be recorded somewhere, it would be far too easy to track where the money had originated from. They went instead to the boxes, swiftly searching out the one they were seeking. River picked the lock on box 297 and slid the box out, emptying the contents into a duffle that Mal held at the ready. Zoe randomly selected a couple dozen other boxes, their contents also removed.

"That's it, all we have time for" Mal said tersely, and they headed out the way they had come, leaving as silently as they had arrived in the first place.

* * *

Chinese translations

Sha mao: idiot

Ban piung zuh tsu:literally, a half-empty bottle of vinegar, used to address a person with limited professional expertise

gway jong oo peen: valuables

Shen muh niao: what the fuck?


	10. Chapter 10

Jayne piloted the shuttle towards Serenity. He glanced over at Shy who was collapsed in the copilot's chair, her eyes closed. She was holding her arm at a strange angle and grimacing in discomfort. "You all right Shy-girl?" he asked her. She opened her eyes and met his gaze. "Think my shoulder's messed up again" she answered. Jayne felt a twinge of guilt. "Guess I just about yanked yer arm off back there" he said in apology. To his surprise Shy laughed out loud. "You don't gotta apologize for savin' my life Jayne." Her expression sobered. "You did you know. Save my life. You are an amazin' man Jayne Cobb." Jayne felt his face heat at her words, and hoped fiercely the grit on his face would cover up his blush.

He didn't know why it was so hard for him to accept a compliment. Not that he got them too often, most especially not from Serenity's crew. "You woulda done the same" he answered, his tone gruff. Shy didn't answer, and he lapsed into silence. After a short while, he heard her breathing slow and deepen. She had fallen asleep, and Jayne was content to leave her that way. He made good time back to Serenity and docked the shuttle without incident. Shy dozed through the entire procedure.

He stood over her for a moment watching her sleep. He bent down and lifted her in his arms. She shifted restlessly and woke, her eyes cloudy with sleep. "Jayne?" she mumbled, blinking slowly at him. He wasn't sure what it was that made him do it, but he kissed her, his lips gentle and undemanding. He shifted her in his arms and deepened the kiss, and she tilted her head to get better access to his mouth. He groaned and she twisted his arms, wrapping her legs around his waist, holding the back of his head with her good arm. Neither one of them heard the door to the shuttle opening.

"Oh, sorry, was I interrupting?" Simon asked, amused. They sprang apart, wearing matching guilty expressions on their faces. Simon schooled his features into a more serious look, because Jayne was scowling, but inside he was still laughing at the thought of what Mal would say if he knew. His thoughts must have shown, because Jayne 's scowl deepened. "You best keep your gorram mouth shut" he threatened. Simon smiled politely, refusing to be intimidated. "I take it things went well?" he asked, taking in their dust covered appearance. Shy smiled at the doctor. "Went off with a bang" she said, tongue-in-cheek, "but I think my shoulder's out again." Simon hustled her down to the med bay, and with Jayne's help, forced her shoulder back into it's socket.

They were just finishing up when the sound of the cargo bay doors alerted them that the others were back. Simon rushed from the room to see his sister, leaving Shy and Jayne to their own company. Jayne couldn't stop staring at her. Shy blushed under the intensity of his gaze, but didn't break eye contact. "Jayne-" she said, only to be interrupted by Jesse, who came racing into the room, oblivious of the tension between the adults. "Mom, hey Mom aren't you gonna come an' see what they got?" She smiled at the excitement in her son's voice. He hadn't wanted to be left out of the job, jealous that River got to go along, and been in a bad mood when she left. It was good to see him back to his old self. "I'm comin', Jesse" she answered with a smile in her voice. She cast one last look at Jayne over her shoulder before following her son.

* * *

Jayne watched as Shy threw her head back and laughed at something Mal said. The entire crew was here, celebrating a job that had gone smooth from start to finish. They'd done the drop earlier and were enjoying a rare night off Serenity, eating something other than protein for a change. Jayne tried not to stare, but Shy was so gorram pretty, wearing her hair down, her eyes flashing with amusement. He couldn't figure out just what it was about her that attracted him so much. Objectively speaking, she wasn't as beautiful as Inara and or as stunning as Zoe. She wasn't as graceful as River and she sure as hell wasn't as sweet as Kaylee, not with that bad temper of hers. But something about her drew him like a fly to honey. And she was wearing those gorram tight pants again. There was no two ways about it, those pants had his mind on one thing, and one thing only. He swallowed hard, remembering the kiss they'd shared in the shuttle. If the doc hadn't walked in on them there was no telling where that might have led. He gave himself a mental shake. No way was he walking down that path. Never mind that she was angry at him more often than not, Mal would space him if he even suspected that Jayne was having thoughts like that about his sister.

He took a long swallow of beer from the bottle he held clutched in his right hand. Shy glanced his way and caught his eye, giving him a tentative smile, gesturing with her head that he should come over. He lifted his beer in acknowledgement, but ignored the obvious invitation. He couldn't go and sit that close to her and hide the way he was feeling tonight. Jayne finished his beer and turned towards the barkeep to order another, resigned to spending the evening alone.

He was sitting at the bar brooding when he felt a hand on his arm. For a instant he was hopeful it might be Shy, but when he looked up he saw it was one of the working girls. She offered him a sultry look, running her hand up over his shoulder and down his chest. He frowned at her and she hesitated. Just then he heard another burst of laughter from Shy. He clenched his teeth. The whore started to step back at the look on his face but he grabbed her wrist, stopping her. "No," he heard himself say, "don't go sugar." He allowed himself be pulled off of his stool and up the stairs to the rooms above the bar, walking right past Serenity's crew on the way up. He felt a sudden flash of shame. He covered it up with swagger. "Boat's leavin' in eight hours Jayne, you're not on it, we'll leave you behind," Mal called out after his mercenary. "Eight hours" he groused, "dammit Mal, I don't like ta rush." He shot the whore a a lewd grin, and she let out a practiced giggle. He caught Shy's gaze for a moment and quickly looked away, but not before he noticed her wounded expression.

Shy watched Jayne follow the whore upstairs and tried to hide her hurt. Not that she was surprised, not really, but he'd kissed her earlier, and she'd thought… Well, she didn't know what she'd thought. She'd been mean as a snake to him ever since coming on board Serenity, and made it abundantly clear she wanted nothing to do with him. She could hardly blame him for ignoring her when that's what she'd wanted from the very beginning. Or at least she'd thought that's what she wanted.

"Mom? I'm goin' with Riv to play pool." Shy looked up as she felt Jesse tug her sleeve. He gave her an uncertain look and she realized she was frowning. "Go ahead Jess" she answered, smiling for her son, but her thoughts were still on Jayne. She tried to enjoy the conversation flowing around her, but she just wasn't in the mood anymore. "I'm headin' back to Serenity," she told her brother, "is Jesse o.k. here with you?" Mal nodded and wished her goodnight. She stopped by the pool tables to let Jesse know she was going and slowly made her way back home.

* * *

Jayne lay on the bed, eyes burning with fatigue, but unable to sleep. The whore didn't seem to suffer from the same problem, snoring softly despite the glow of lamplight in the room. He gave up on the idea of sleep and swung his long legs over the side of the bed. Quietly so as not to wake the woman, he pulled on his clothes. He'd thought that sex would help take his mind off Shy. Instead it had left him feeling empty and somehow dissatisfied. And still, all he could ruttin' think about was Shy; the taste of her lips, the feel of her in his arms, her gorram tight pants. He let himself out and walked softly down the stairs. The bar was quieter now. He spied Kaylee and Simon in a corner booth, so intent on each other that they didn't notice him. There was no sign of the others, and Jayne heaved a sigh of relief. He left and headed straight for Serenity, hoping familiar surroundings would help him shake off his strange mood. When he got there, he couldn't face going down into his lonely bunk. He settled on his weight bench. Lifting weights always helped him quiet his mind. Failing that, maybe he could physically exhaust himself to the point where he could fall asleep.

* * *

Shy tossed and turned in her bed, unable to get the image of Jayne and the whore out of her head. It was no good berating herself, she couldn't logic herself out of her feelings for the man. She knew full well her attraction to Jayne was a bad idea, that didn't mean she could just turn it off. She eventually gave up trying to sleep, and got dressed, deciding walk in the fresh air might help. It was late, but who knew how long it would be before they were planet-side again? She might as well take advantage while she could. Out of habit, she looked in on Jesse before going. He was sound asleep, his arms akimbo, one foot sticking out the bottom of his bed sheets. She tugged the blanket to cover it up. She leaned in the doorway, watching him sleep for a spell. He was growing up so fast. She sighed, realizing he wouldn't be a child for terribly much longer. Shaking her head at her maudlin thoughts, she turned and left as silently as she'd come in.

The sound of clanking metal greeted her as she entered the cargo bay. It was was Jayne, lifting his gorram weights, in the middle of the night no less. Shy couldn't believe it. She could smell the musk of his sweat, along with the whore's perfume and a faint trace of sex. As if it hadn't been bad enough watching him take up with that woman in the first place, now she had to breathe in the stench of what the two of them had done. "Yin chong" Shy muttered angrily as she walked past him, a disgusted look on her face.

Jayne sat up on the edge of the weight bench and growled in frustration. He could feel his muscles knot in anger. With Shy, it was always one step forward, two massive gorram steps back. "Ni men wei shen muh yu wo zhung nao?" he shouted after her, not caring if he woke up the entire ship.

Shy turned on her heel, her mouth set in a bitter line. "Jeez, I dunno, maybe it's because you shot me" she spat out. Jayne narrowed his eyes consideringly at her. "No, that ain't it" he concluded, suddenly certain. Shy flushed and looked away. A look of grim satisfaction flashed across Jayne's face. "So what is it Shy? Tell me, 'cause this" he waved his hand in the air between them "ain't workin' no more." Shy's feelings were so jumbled, she couldn't put voice to them even if she wanted to, so she glared contemptuously at him, her jaw locked tight. Shy turned away from him, and walked towards the stairs, giving up on the idea of a walk. Jayne grit his teeth and tried to swallow his anger, but lost the battle. He stood up and moved to follow. "Don't you gorram walk away from me Shy!" he ordered grimly. She whirled on her heel and glared icy daggers at him "Why not Cobb? You walked away from me!" she yelled.

Jayne heaved a sigh of irritation. Was that what this was all about? He ran his hands through his hair in frustration, leaving it standing on end. "Yer right. I did. I ain't a good man. I said it before, an' I'll say it again, but this is the last gorram time 'cause I'm sick of this go-se, an' I ain't gonna let you treat me like dirt under yer foot no more. So listen, an' listen good. I'm sorry. Sorry!" His angry voice reverberated off the cargo bay walls. Shy gave him a stricken look. She slumped down on the bottom step leading up from the cargo bay. The cold from the metal seeped through her clothing. She suppressed a small shiver, and hugged her knees into her chest. Jayne was abruptly aware of how small and vulnerable looking she was. Her bad temper did a pretty good job of covering that up most of the time, but right now she looked like a lost waif. He gritted his teeth and resisted the urge to feel sorry for her.

"What the hell got you so mad at me Shy? An' for once, tell the gorram truth, not some go-se about me shootin' you," Jayne growled. The edges of Shy's mouth turned down, her face a mask of bitter unhappiness. "You don't want to know the truth," she accused. "Well now, I just said I did," the merc answered, making no effort to hide his annoyance. Arguing with her might not get him anywhere, but it sure as hell was satisfying to let his anger out.

Shy looked at him long and hard. Somewhere in the back of her mind she'd known this moment was coming, ever since she'd woken up in Serenity's infirmary. Her jaw jutted out defiantly as she faced down Jayne. "You wanna know the truth you ruttin' bastard? Fine. I was pregnant. I needed the money for a gorram abortion!"

The sudden silence following her confession only served to emphasize how much noise they'd been making. Jayne gaped at her. "Pregnant?" he croaked out, "you mean… Jesse?" Shy gave him a disgusted look. "Ni zhe guh yu chun duh bai chi Jayne, of course I mean Jesse." Jayne felt his face flush. His mouth gaped, but no sound came out. A kid. He had a son. He was a father. His mind spun, screaming at him in denial, unable to latch onto a solid thought. "You were gonna get _rid_ of him?" he asked after a long moment, saying the first coherent thing that came to mind. Jayne watched in horror as Shy's eyes filled with tears. "Don't you dare stand judgement Jayne Cobb," she yelled. She was on her feet now, her hands bunched into fists at her sides. Jayne took an involuntary step backwards. "I… It's just… I mean… you wouldn'ta…" he trailed off weakly. "I woulda done it Jayne," she answered, her voice full of self-recrimination, "but you took the money back, don't you remember?"

At the time, he'd been so angry that she'd stole from him, he'd felt justified in his actions. Knowing why she'd taken the money sure coloured things differently. Jayne felt a sudden wave of nausea, his gorge rising in his throat. "Oh Jesus" he choked out, "I got a kid." He wheeled away and retched, throwing up his dinner and the beer he'd drunk all over the cargo deck floor. He stood there hunched over, while spasms wracked his body. A large hand gripped his shoulder and pulled him upright, spinning him around. He found himself facing the captain, and wondered where the hell he had come from.

"You gorram gao ju duh! Sha tien dao duh" Mal ground out, his face suffused with rage. Jayne was still numb with shock from Shy's news, and did nothing to defend himself when Mal pitsol-whipped him on the side of the head. He heard Shy screaming, but it sounded like it was coming form a thousand miles away. He reeled away from Mal, dropping heavily to his hands and knees, fighting not to lose consciousness. Blood ran freely down the side of his head, dripping onto the floor by his hands. A sudden blinding pain wracked his body and he fell to the ground as Mal kicked him in the side, the sickening crunch of bone telling him at least one of his ribs was broken. He lifted his arms to defend his head, but a third blow never came. He looked up through bleary eyes to see what was holding up the show. Shy had jumped on Mal's back and was trying without much success to pin his arms.

Jayne closed his eyes again because the room wouldn't stop spinning. Noisy shouts echoed throughout the cargo hold, it sounded like the entire crew was there. He forced himself to roll over, ignoring the pain in his head and ribs, and slowly pushed himself back onto his hands and knees. He knelt there, head hanging low, trying to find the strength to pull himself back onto his feet. Cold hands touched him, urging him to lie down.

Simon was crouched next to him, a grim look on his face. Jayne shook him off, and pushed himself the rest of the way up, swaying on his feet and hunched to one side, the pain in his ribs making it impossible to stand up straight. "You could have killed him hitting him with that," the doctor accused the captain, who had managed to get Shy off his back. "That's the general idea" Mal spat back at him, levelling his gun at Jayne's head. Shy immediately stepped between the two men, trying to block the shot.

"Mom?" Jayne heard Jesse ask in a quavery voice "Uncle Mal? What's wrong?"

"I'm killin' your bu yao lien father!" Mal snarled out. Jayne painfully turned to face his son. His son. He still couldn't believe it. Now that he knew, he didn't know how he'd missed it. Jesse had the exact same shape ears, the same jaw line. Jayne drank in the sight of him, looking at Jesse as though for the first time, searching of himself in the boy. He felt a stab of pain in his chest that had nothing to do with the beating Mal had just given him. Shy was crying, silently, big tears running down her face. Jayne could feel a mess of snot and tears mixed together with the blood on his face, and realized he was crying too. "Jesse, hon it's o.k…" Shy took a half-step towards her son, reaching out. He shrank away from her, wrapping his arms around his narrow rib-cage. "You lied to me. You're a liar!" he yelled at her, and spun on his heel. He hit the blast door button, squeezing through the opening door and ran out into the night.

Everyone froze for a minute before chaos erupted. Shy abandoned Jayne to run after her son, racing blindly out into the night, calling his name. Mal lowered his pistol, a shocked look on his face. Jayne turned to go after Shy, stumbling painfully towards the door. Simon tried to stop him. "Jayne, you need to come to the med bay, I need to see to those wounds." Jayne looked at him uncomprehendingly. "That's my son" he answered, as he continued towards the door, pausing to grab a light to bring with him. Shy had nothing, and he didn't see how she would ever find the boy in the dark. He felt a hand on his arm, and braced himself for a fight, but it was only River. "Stay with me," she ordered quietly, "it won't help Jesse if you collapse and die." He nodded his thanks, knowing River would have the best chance of finding the boy, and followed her out the door.

* * *

Chinese Translations

Yin chong: literally "lewd worms" derogatory term for men who frequent brothels

Ni men wei shen muh yu wo zhung nao?: Why are you so angry with me?

Ni zhe guh yu chun duh bai chi : you stupid idiot

Gaoju duh: motherfucker

Sha tien dao duh: literally "[one who needs to be] killed with the cuts of a thousand knifes" – bastard; son-of-a-bitch

bu yao lien: shameless, lit. "doesn't want face," i.e., "discards his face, does not seek to maintain a good status in society" much more of an insult in chinese than in English because of the value Chinese culture puts on saving face


	11. Chapter 11

Jesse ran blindly through the night, propelled by his anger and hurt. Somewhere behind him, his mother and Jayne were calling his name. He could hear absolute panic in his mother's voice. It only served to make him angrier. How dare she lie to him? And not just once, but over and over again. He felt a spurt of satisfaction that he'd been able to scare her. When he thought about it, she'd been actively lying to him ever since they'd come on board Serenity weeks ago. Keeping his father a secret from him. He could think of a dozen times that she might've told him that Jayne was his father if only she had wanted to.

His mind skittered away form the idea of Jayne being his dad. He wasn't ready to face that, not just yet. He ran until he thought his lungs would burst, until his legs started to feel like jelly. Exhaustion made him clumsy; he stumbled over a rock and crashed painfully to the ground. He lay there, his lungs working like a blacksmith's bellows. Long moments passed while he tried to catch his breath, his thoughts spinning out of control. Despite the uncomfortableness of the thought, his mind kept turning back to Jayne. He could hardly fathom that the man was in fact his father. Jayne was too big, too rude, too...

Well, Jesse wasn't sure exactly what Jayne was, but fatherly was definitely not one of the words that came to mind. He thought back over every interaction he'd had with the man since being on board. The way Jayne had been so rude to his mom in the beginning. Jayne and his Mom telling the story about how they had met. Jesse smiled when he remembered the bar fight back on Persephone. It hadn't been overly funny at the time, but it struck Jesse now as truly hilarious that one of the first things he'd done with his Pa was get drunk and then start a bar brawl. He laughed, just a little at first, but then louder and louder until he was clutching at his stomach and rolling on the ground. In some distant part of his brain he knew he was just reacting to the shock of everything that had happened. Gradually, his laughter subsided. Eventually, cold from the ground began to seep though his clothes and he clambered to his feet. Now that his anger was spent, he looked around, trying to get his bearings.

The moon they were on was like nearly every other rock he'd ever set foot on in his twelve and a half years of life: dry and dusty. The small town where Serenity had docked was built on a flat plain, but Jesse now found himself on a hillside. Obviously he had run a fair distance. The sky was lit with the dim wash of stars. On the horizon, another moon was on the rise, providing more light as it climbed higher in the sky. He was in the middle of scrubby pine forest. He couldn't remember when the trees had started, there hadn't been many around town. A cold wind set the trees to dancing, casting eery shadows across the land, making it come alive. While the trees were not very big, they were tall enough to block out any view of the plain. He couldn't see any lights whatsoever from town. He had no idea which direction he'd come from, never mind which direction he should choose now.

Jesse was abruptly aware that he'd run off without any shoes on his feet. He was dressed in his pyjamas, and nothing else. Where a moment ago he'd felt nothing but shock, his feet now throbbed from the abuse they'd taken from the rough ground and his hands ached with cold. He hugged his arms around his chest and tucked his fingers into his armpits, trying to warm them up. He felt very small and very alone, and wished bitterly that he hadn't run so hard when he'd heard his mom calling him.

He swallowed a sob, crying wouldn't help him now. He tried to clear his mind and remember anything that might help him find his way back home. Only the sketchiest of details came back to him. When they'd gone into town earlier he'd noticed that it was built on the banks of a small river. And he was pretty sure that he'd been running uphill when he'd tripped. Water didn't flow uphill, so logically it had to be down at the bottom. He bit his lip, undecided. Another blast of cold wind left him shivering and helped make up his mind. Resolutely, he turned and headed downslope. If absolutely nothing else, maybe he'd be able to get out of the cold wind if he wasn't so high up.

* * *

Jayne, Shy and River searched for well over an hour, joined by Mal, Inara, the doc and Kaylee, scouring the town and the area around the ship. Mal finally called a halt to the search, feeling burdened with guilt and worry. The crew regrouped at Serenity and trouped inside. Jayne could hardly keep himself upright any longer, and leaned heavily on Shy for support. The ache in his head was making him dizzy and the pain his ribs was so intense he had a hard time breathing. Simon bullied him into the med bay, ignoring his protests, and immediately set to treating his wounds. Jayne sat in stone silence while the doc stitched the large gash on his head, taped his ribs and administered a smoother, all the while listening to Shy argue with her brother outside the med bay.

"Shy, wanderin' around blind is pointless" Mal insisted.

"Guan wah niao shuh!" Shy answered angrily.

Jayne left the infirmary without a word, interrupting their fight. He could feel the weight of the crew's collective stares, but he only had eyes for Shy. "Yer brother's right Shy. There ain't no in sense goin' back out 'til daylight" he said heavily. "I ain't gonna sit around on my pi-gu an' do nothin' while Jesse's out there on his own!" Shy protested. Jayne understood completely how she felt. He hated the thought of Jesse being out on his own too, but the fact remained that it was unlikely they'd find him in the dark. "Shy-girl, we could look all night and not find him, meanwhile we're just messin' up any tracks. First light, I'll head out. I'll find him. I promise."

"This is all my gorram fault" Shy said, her voice agonized. She looked completely and utterly defeated. "I made this mess. I was too much of a nao zhong to tell anyone the truth, an' now look at what I done." She looked like she was going to start crying again, although Jayne didn't know where she'd find any more tears to shed. She had cried an ocean already tonight. He walked haltingly towards her, uncaring what anyone else thought, and pulled her into his arms. She needed a hug.

Shy resisted for a moment, holding herself stiffly before collapsing in his arms. Jayne closed his eyes and held her as tight as his injured ribs would let him. He didn't think he'd ever felt someone else's anguish so keenly as he did right now. When Shy finally pulled away, he realized they were alone. He tugged her hand and led her over to the couch, pulling her down to sit beside him. She kept a tight hold on his hand, gripping it as though it were a lifeline.

The silence stretched between them, neither of them willing to look the other in the eye. Finally, Jayne plucked up the courage to speak. "I'll bring 'im back Shy" he promised quietly. She squeezed his hand in response. "I reckon if anyone can, it'd be you," she acknowledged. Jayne was the best tracker she'd ever met. Not that she'd met many, but there was no denying his skill.

"Shy? Can I ask you somethin'?" Jayne sounded tentative, and Shy braced herself for whatever was coming. "Would you really'a done it? Got an abortion?" Shy bit her lower lip, and hesitated a moment before answering. "If you hadnt'a shot me? Yeah, probably Jayne, I woulda." Jayne swallowed convulsively, disturbed by her confession.

"Truth is Jayne, you saved me makin' a horrible mistake. 'Cause I know that I would never forgive myself for doin' somethin' like that. I just didn't realize it back then" she admitted so quietly Jayne had to lean closer to catch her words. "After you shot me I realized I didn't wanna lose my baby. An then when he was born… I didn't know you could love another person the way I love him. More than anything else in the 'verse. Jesse's the best thing that ever happened to me Jayne."

Jayne digested her words. He tried to tell himself that he would have stuck by her if he'd known, but he'd never been particularly good at lying to himself. Truth was if he'd known he probably would have left her in the dust. Not with a bullet hole in the back maybe, but he wouldn't have stuck around neither. Shy shivered and leaned in against his side. He lifted his arm and wrapped it around her narrow shoulders, pulling her into his side, wincing at the flare of pain in his ribs. They were a sorry pair, all beat up and broken, he thought to himself, then suddenly realized that at least in this they _were_ a pair. Strange, but he couldn't think of a single time he'd ever felt the urge to protect someone the way he did Shy right now. Stranger yet, if anyone had told him this morning that he'd be holding Shy in his arms with no thought to sexin' her he woulda laughed himself silly...

* * *

Mal sat slumped in a chair in his bunk. He hadn't been able to face watching Jayne hold Shy, not after the beating he'd given the man. He felt guilty enough calling off the search without watching his sister turn to that man for comfort. Mal regretted having lost his temper, all the while, his anger continued to boil just below the surface.

"Mal," Inara said, interrupting his thoughts,"Why don't you come to bed?" She placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. The captain straightened in his chair but made no move to get up. "Anything happens to Jesse, and I'm gonna space that ruttin' bastard" he ground out unhappily. Inara sat down on the arm of his chair. "You know you can't do that Mal. He's Jesse's father," she chided gently.

Her words only seemed to make things worse for Mal. "Ughh. God! Don't say that, 'Nara. I get pictures in my head when you say that!" Inara laughed out loud. "You're going to have to get over it Mal. For Jesse's sake. I honestly don't know why you're so angry -" she began to say, but broke off at the look on his face. "You hafta ask why' I'm so angry? That gorram hundan knocked up my mei-mei!" he complained. Inara shook her head disapprovingly at him. "Mal, that was long, long before he met you. I can't believe I'm actually saying this, but really, Jayne deserves your loyalty as much as Shy does."

Mal frowned. "You're gonna take his side in this Inara?" he asked, grumpily. "It doesn't matter what he did or didn't do to Shy thirteen years ago, Mal. He followed you into hell on Miranda, right along with the rest of us. I know he can be, well, selfish, but he's put himself in harm's way over and over for this crew," Inara reproached him. "For the money, 'Nara, not for me, not for you!" Mal denied hotly. "There was no money in it on Miranda," Inara pointed out unnecessarily.

Mal heaved a sigh. "I know," he answered quietly, "I know." He reached out to thread his fingers through hers. Mal drew in a deep breath, and finally admitted out loud what was truly bothering him. "He broke her gorram heart 'Nara, it's plain to see for anyone who cares to look. An' I ain't sure I'll ever forgive him for that. Worse, I reckon he's fixin' to do the same again. Did you see how she was lookin' at him earlier when he went up with that whore?" Inara stood up and started getting undressed for bed. "You can't hold the man accountable for how someone else feels, Mal." She smiled at him. "Come to bed now. Tomorrow is another day and will be here sooner than you'll care to face."

* * *

Shy woke up to Jayne shaking her shoulder. She'd fallen asleep last night on the couch beside him, slumped against the big man's bulk. She shivered and stretched, her body aching from sleeping in such a cramped position. She looked up at Jayne, and drew in a sharp breath. He looked horrible, the side of his head swollen and bruised where Mal had hit him. The stitches Simon had put in were pulled tight from the swelling, crossing over his left temple and disappearing into his hairline. He was going to have another a scar.

"You ok?" she asked him, unable to hide the concern in her voice. "T'ain't hardly nothin' girly," he answered dismissively, his voice gravelly from lack of sleep. "It's gettin' light an' I'm headin' out. You comin'?" he asked. Shy scrambled to her feet and followed Jayne down to the cargo bay. River was ready and waiting to go, Mal was just strapping on his gun belt. He looked up when they walked in. His gaze locked with Jayne's and held for a long moment. Whatever passed between the two men seemed to satisfy the captain. He nodded at Shy and Jayne. "River got us some horses. We'll cover more ground that way. You think you can track from horseback?" he asked Jayne in a level voice. Jayne gave a curt nod. "Well, let's go find your boy then" Mal said.

* * *

Chinese Translations

Guan wah niao shuh: I don't give a damn

nao zhong: coward


	12. Chapter 12

At first Jesse thought he was seeing a mirage, a trick of the eye caused by the refraction of light. The sun had risen hours ago, and he'd left behind the shelter of the forest not long after. He was now walking across a dusty, sun-baked plain, the cracked earth mute testimony to the merciless heat of the sun. Jesse had long since taken his shirt off to protect his head from the sun's harsh rays, and ripped the lower half of his pant legs off and used the material to wrap his feet in an attempt to save them from the scorching ground. His tongue felt swollen to double it's normal size, and was glued uncomfortably to the roof of his mouth. He was certain he could see distant buildings shimmering in the heat waves that bounced off the parched earth. As he neared, he could see that there was in fact a collection of ramshackle houses, surrounded by a surprising amount of greenery. There had to be water there. He broke into as fast a run as he could manage, his thirst magnified to an agonizing level by his anticipation of finally having water to drink.

The town was oddly quiet, with little sign that people actually lived there. For all that, it didn't look abandoned, the streets were too clean and the houses too well kept. Jesse could see a small church at the far side of town, maybe everyone was there. The doors were open, and there were several horses hitched to the post outside. He spied a hand pump next to a watering trough. He let out a small cry of gratitude, and rushed over to pump the handle for all he was worth. He drank his fill directly from the spout, letting the water stream down over his face. He was so thirsty he would have drunk straight from the trough, horse water or not. He finally surfaced for air, gasping for breath. He wiped his hands over his wet face, grimacing when they came away streaked with mud. He was absolutely filthy. He pulled the shirt off his head, and dunked down into the water trough, submerging as much of his head as he could in the cool water.

He startled when felt a hand on his shoulder, and was suddenly jerked back out of the water. He stumbled roughly to the dusty ground, landing on his seat, scraping his elbows in the dirt. "You there! Hands up boy, you're under arrest!" a tall greasy-haired man shouted at him. Jesse scrambled to his feet, and shrank back at the sight of the gun in the man's hand. His own hands rose up in the air, and he took a step back. "What? Why? What'd I do?" he asked completely baffled. The man ignored him and reached out and grabbed Jesse roughly, spinning him around and cuffing his hands. Short moments later, Jesse found himself locked in a jail cell, no explanations offered. He gripped the bars of the door and yelled down the hallway, but no one answered. He slowly sank to the ground, completely exhausted, and fought the overwhelming urge to cry.

* * *

Jesse's tracks led clear over a high ridge and down into another valley. There didn't seem to be any rhyme nor reason to the boy's route, though that made good enough sense to Jayne. Jesse'd been running through the night, and hadn't always chosen the path of least resistance. He supposed it had been too dark for Jesse to see where he was going.

Jayne shifted uncomfortably in his saddle, his cracked ribs a constant ache. He muttered a curse at Mal under his breath. As if it wasn't bad enough the captain had split his skull near open, the gorram hun dan had to kick him while he was down too. Jayne's thoughts kept bouncing around in his head, going over and over the events of the last 24 hours. The look on Shy's face when she'd spied him with the whore. The look on Mal's face as he'd aimed that big gun of his at Jayne's head. The look on Jesse's face when he'd found out who his father was.

Jesse consumed Jayne's thoughts. He wasn't sure what to think, or how he should feel. He was angry for one, mostly at Shy, for not telling him about Jesse the second she got on the boat. At himself too, for getting her all knocked up in the first place. And then he felt guilty for thinking that because if he hadn't then Jesse wouldn't exist. With dawning dismay, Jayne realized he cared about Jesse. Deeply. He didn't understand how _that_ was even possible, but he did. He loved his son. The emotion left him feeling disgruntled and uncomfortable. He really didn't want to care overly much about anyone else. But more than anything else though, Jayne realized he was afraid. What if he couldn't find Jesse?

He looked around at the sound of another horse pulling up beside his. It was River, riding with the same natural grace that she did everything, making it look effortless. Jayne wondered if she'd ever ridden before. "Of course," she said as reined in next to him. Jayne scowled at her. Although he was glad to have her along, he really hated knowing she could crawl through his thoughts whenever she wanted to. "I don't though" she spoke again. "Want to, that is," she clarified, because Jayne was looking confused. He turned away, a thoroughly disgusted look on his face. "You pickin' up on anything Albatross?" Mal called out from the behind them. River twisted in her saddle to look back at him. "No. He's not close by or I would be able to detect him. He did pass this way though, last night." Jayne renewed his efforts to find any sign. He'd lost the trail again, he couldn't see anything here, the ground was too rocky for prints. "You sure moonbrain?" he asked, sounding skeptical and hopeful in equal measure.

"We gotta be gettin' close" he said when River didn't answer. They were miles from Serenity now. Jesse must've run the whole night through to have traveled so far. River pushed on ahead, travelling further down into the valley they'd entered some time ago. The forest thinned around them, and they found themselves on the edge of a plain. It stretched out to the horizon, an endless flat expanse. Jayne glanced at Shy. She'd said very little since they'd left Serenity in the pre-dawn light, and he was worried about her. Her face had a pinched, stressed look, and seemed unnaturally pale under the brim of her hat. The pressure to find Jesse weighed heavily on him. Resolutely, he urged his horse out on the plain, following the faint traces of Jesse's passage.

* * *

"Jesse Reynolds, you have been found guilty of the crime of theft and indecent exposure. It is the verdict of this court that you shall be hanged by the neck until you be dead." The judge slammed down his gavel on the block, the sound reverberating though the hushed courtroom. Jesse sat in a caged box in the corner of the room, feeling more than a little stunned, and completely uncertain as to how he'd ended up here in the first place.

"All rise for the honourable Judge Troyer," the bailiff called out. Numbly, Jesse stood up in the prisoner's box, although he didn't see the percentage in following the rules at this point. They were going to kill him. He still wasn't sure what he'd done to deserve this. Walked down the street in his tattered pyjamas? Taken a drink from a water pump? How was that a crime? He finally gave into the urge to cry, tears rolling silently down his face. He was going to die. He wasn't going to see his mom again, or his uncle or Jayne, or anyone else from Serenity. Jesse sniffed loudly, wiping his nose with the back of his hands. The deputy who'd originally arrested him opened the cage and dragged Jesse out, ignoring his tears.

The trip back to the town jail was painfully quick. The sun beat down on Jesse's bare head, it's light washing out the colour of the sky to a pale blue. Jesse looked up, squinting at the brightness. A large black bird wheeled across the sky, riding the wind currents. Jesse envied the bird it's freedom, wishing he could escape and fly away too. In no time, he was back in the cell. They brought him his final meal, which he left untouched by the door. He'd been ravenous when he'd arrived in town, but his appetite had fled. As if he wanted to eat anything now. No one spoke so much as a word to him. He huddled up on the small bunk, sill dressed in his raggedy pyjamas and filthy shirt. He buried his head in his arms in despair and waited for them to come for him. The judge hadn't seen fit to mention when he'd be hanged, and Jesse couldn't bring himself to ask.

* * *

"There's somethin' ain't right about this place" Mal said scanning the town. On the surface it seemed normal enough, a collection of wooden houses and storefronts. Laundry fapped on a line in someone's yard, and a mangy looking dog slunk across the road in front of them, disappearing into the shade under a wooden porch. The dusty main road led straight to a large square at the centre of town. There was a church at one side, a sheriff's office opposite. It finally struck him just what was off about the place; it was the conspicuous absence of people.

As they neared the square, the jumbled sound of many voices speaking at once drifted through the air from the far side of town. Curious, Mal pushed on to see what the commotion was about. What he saw froze his blood. A large tree stood at the edge of town, a crowd gathered around it. Under the tree stood a horse, a small person seated on it's back, head swathed in a black hood, noose around his neck, and hands cuffed behind his back. The rope snaked up and around a sturdy branch. Mal immediately recognized Jesse. His gun cleared leather in a heartbeat. Behind him he could hear the others draw their guns as well. The crowd hushed as they realized what was happening in their midst. People hastened to get out of the line of fire, leaving a clear passageway to the improvised gallows.

The hangman, also the sheriff if the badge pinned to his shirt was anything to go by, stood firm. A small group of men flanked him, guns drawn and aimed at Serenity's crew. For a long moment no one moved or spoke. "You'll be wantin' to let that boy down Sheriff," Mal called out loudly. "You shoot that gun, horse'll spook and the boy'll swing," the sheriff answered the Captain's challenge. "If I were you, I'd be less concerned about the boy, and more worried about the big-ass gun his Pa's got pointed at your head. Jayne ain't exactly the forgivin' sort. That boy swings an' your insides'll be decoratin' ground," Mal answered with a calm he wasn't feeling. Jayne tightened his finger on Vera's trigger, emphasizing Mal's threat. The Sheriff didn't back down though, and made no move to take cover. "He broke the law, and I'll see him hang for it if it's the last thing I do," he insisted stubbornly. The sheriff's men held their ground, guns aimed at Serenity's crew.

Shy couldn't stand the tension any longer. "What could he possibly have done to deserve this? Please, he's just a child!" She choked on her words, overcome with emotion. "Boy paraded through town half-nekkid. Then he stole our water. This here's a decent town. We don't hold with immoral behaviour or thieves. We held a trial, fair and square, an' I aim to see him take his punishment as decided by our good judge," the executioner sneered at her. The LeMat revolver Jayne had loaned her shook as her hand trembled with anger. She was tempted beyond reason to just pull the trigger and kill the man. The only thing stopping her was the fear that the man was right, that the horse would bolt and Jesse would die before they could cut him down.

"Won't happen," River said in an oddly dreamy voice. "Short-drop hanging. Blood flow to the brain is reduced due to blockage of the jugular veins and carotid arteries, causing cerebral ischemia, bradycardia and hypotension. Death by asphyxiation typically takes between ten and twenty minutes. A painful way to die, but not very efficient." Shy looked at the young pilot, her jaw dropping open in horror. "That's a bit too morbid and creepifyin' to be much of a comfort Albatross" Mal pointed out, not taking his eyes off the sheriff and his men for even a second. River offered a beatific smile, and then announced in a voice loud enough to carry across the crowd, "I've got the rope."

As though it was the signal they all been waiting for, gunfire erupted, scattering the crowd. The horse reared up, knocking Jesse off it's back. He swung violently at the end of the rope, twisting helplessly just a few feet off the ground. True to her word, River fired a single shot, neatly breaking the rope just below the branch. Jesse tumbled to the ground and lay there twitching, the rope still tight around his neck. Jayne dispatched the hangman expediently, a single shot form Vera disintegrating the side of his head. The rest of his men returned fire, taking cover where they could. Shy ran to Jesse's side and began to pry at the rope around his neck, uncaring that it put her right in the crossfire. The rope was so tight she couldn't work her fingers underneath it. She tried to loosen knot, whimpering in frustration, the sound a mix of anguish and anger. Large hands roughly brushed her aside. She watched as Jayne efficiently cut the rough hemp rope with his bowie knife, pulling the black cloth off Jesse's face.

The rope had left a large, red weal on his neck, and the flesh was already bruising a deep, mottled purple. He didn't appear to be breathing. Shy scrambled over and blew into his mouth. Once, twice. He suddenly jerked underneath her, arching up from the ground in a spasm of coughing. "Gan xie shung di," Shy breathed out, her eyes tearing up with relief. She turned to Jayne and gave him a smile. A sudden sharp pain in her back made her frown. Slowly, she toppled down in the dirt, a red stain blossoming on the back of her shirt.

Jayne screamed in rage, turning Vera on the Sheriff's men, firing indiscriminately. The silence that followed was deafening, broken only by the sound of an approaching aircraft. Inara set Serenity down in the clearing next to the tree. Jayne dropped to his knees beside Shy. She moaned in pain, coughing up blood. "Yer gonna be o.k. Shy girl" Jayne said, not sure who he was trying to convince, Shy or himself. "Jesse..." she choked out in a strained voice. "He's o.k. Shy, he's fine." Jayne turned to look at Jesse, to see if he'd told Shy the truth. He could see the boy's chest rising and falling steadily; he was unconscious, but still breathing.

Zoe and Mal appeared, stretcher in hand, Simon on their heels. Jayne listened with half an ear as the doctor barked orders at them. He scooped up Jesse's inert form in his arms, and with long strides, carried his son back on board Serenity.

* * *

Jayne waited impatiently to hear from the doc on Jesse and Shy's condition. As soon as he got the word they were going to pull through he hit his bunk, bone tired from the ordeal of he last couple of days. He emerged 18 hours later, feeling like a bear waking up from hibernation. His stomach growled loudly in protest over the protracted absence of food, and he headed to the kitchen to rustle up some grub. He found Shy seated at the table, a tumbler of whiskey in front of her. He grabbed some leftovers from the fridge and sat down across from her to eat. "You feelin' o.k?" he asked gruffly. "Yeah, I'm good." Jayne gave her a skeptical look. "Tung si la," she admitted with a grimace, "the whiskey helps though." Jayne absently scratched at the stubble on his jaw and let out a huge yawn. "How's Jesse doin'?" he thought to ask. "He's o.k. Neck's bruised pretty good, but the doc says he'll be fine." Shy answered, then continued after a pause. "You're gonna have to talk to him you know."

"Don't ya think he'd take it better from you?" he asked, hoping to avoid a confrontation with the boy. "Me an' Jess already had our come to Jesus moment," she answered, a small smile playing on her lips. Jayne heaved a mental sigh. "You gonna come along?" he asked her, wondering exactly what he was supposed to say to the boy. Shy shook her head resolutely. "You and' Jess are gonna have to work things out for your own selves," she answered, "I ain't gonna referee for neither one o' you." Jayne swallowed his panic. There wasn't much in life that scared him, but the thought of talking to Jesse left him feeling queasy.

"Dunno what I'm s'posed to say to him. I ain't no good with words." Jayne muttered. Shy smiled at his discomfiture. "Well, that's one thing Jesse didn't inherit from you. That boy is like to jaw your ear off if you let him. In any case, you can just say whatever. The tryin' matters more than the words." Jayne watched as she took a long swallow from her glass, thinking that he wouldn't mind a drink right about now. He scraped his chair back with a sigh. No sense in putting off the inevitable. Sooner he spoke to the boy, sooner it'd be over, sooner he could find a drink of his own. He was pretty sure he still had a jar of Kaylee's home-brew squirreled away somewhere down in his bunk.

* * *

Jayne found Jesse in the passenger dorm he had claimed for his own. The boy was sitting on his bed, a deck of cards in hand. He shuffled them expertly, over and over in intricate moves, his hands too quick for Jayne to follow. Jayne watched him in silence for a moment. "Where'd you learn to do that?" he asked, curious. "Mom showed me" Jesse answered, off-handedly. He didn't look up at his father. "I was wonderin' if mebbe we could talk?" Jayne asked nervously, taking occupancy of the only chair in the room. He could feel his palms sweating, and rubbed them surreptitiously on his pant legs. "Are you gonna yell at me for runnin' away?" Jesse asked, his tone defensive. Jayne leaned back in the chair and gave the question some thought before answering. "Don't expect there's much point in that boy. You're back, an' that's good enough. Don't expect you'll be tryin' it again."

Jesse nodded, still fiddling with the pack of cards. He turned to look at Jayne, his gaze intense. "Are you really my father?" he asked the big man. Jayne had to clear his throat before speaking. "Reckon I am, boy. Yer mom says so anyroad," he answered, his voice sounding a bit rough. He tried to read the reaction on Jesse's face, but the boy gave away nothing of his feelings. Jesse looked down at the pack of cards in his hands, breaking eye contact. Jayne shifted uncomfortably in the chair, fighting the urge to get up and leave. It seemed clear to him that Jesse wanted nothing to do with him, and he couldn't think of anything more to say to him anyways. He glanced out the door of the room, hoping to see Shy there, but she'd been true to her word and had left him completely alone with Jesse. He lapsed into silence, looking at Jesse not look back at him, trying not to feel hurt by the boy's attitude. Seconds ticked by slowly, each one an eternity to Jayne. It was Jesse who finally broke the silence. "So what'm I supposed to call you now?" he asked. Jayne cleared his throat again. Of all the things the boy might've asked, this one hadn't crossed his mind. Nervously, he wondered what Shy would want him to say. Jesse stared at him expectantly. "Just Jayne, boy. 'S'my name."

Jesse looked away again. "Oh" he answered. Was that disappointment in his voice? Jayne couldn't trust his own perception when it came to Jesse, there was too much hope, disappointment, anger and pride all tightly wrapped up in his feelings for the boy. "Or you could call me Pa, or whatever. Your choice boy." Jesse grunted, an unwitting and comical resemblance of his father.

"You know Jesse, I ain't got no idea how to be a Pa. Never thought to have a kid o' my own, not ever." Jayne saw a flash of hurt on Jesse's face, and tried to explain himself. "It ain't that I don't want you boy, don't go thinkin' that. It's just… I never woulda expected this, an' it takes a body by surprise. I know I ain't no one's idea of a good man, but... Well, I'm sure yer Ma will let me know when I ain't doin' a good enough job of it. An' yer uncle too," he added on, scowling at the thought of the man. "Guess you really hate him after what he done to you, huh?" Once again, the question came out of left field, taking Jayne by surprise. "Hate 'im? Naw, I don't hate the captain. Mind you, he can be a mite ornery an' damn near impossible to get along with, but I don't 'spect he can help himself. Man's just got strange notions 'bout things. It'd be like hatin' a dog fer waggin' it's tail."

"You callin' me a dog, Jayne?" Mal asked in a mock angry voice as he appeared in the doorway of the room. "See now, there you go, all ready to go an' get crotchety over nothin'," Jayne grumbled. He stood up from his chair and stretched. "Guess I'll be seein' you later Jesse" he said to his son. "See you... Pa," Jesse answered, picking up his deck of cards to start shuffling them once again. Jayne's face broke into a broad grin at Jesse's words, and he left the room, brushing past Mal in the doorway.

Mal leaned in the open door to Jesse's room. Jesse flashed his uncle a crooked, impudent grin. His attitude certainly didn't seem any worse for wear for all his misadventures over the last couple of days. Mal felt a surge of affection for his nephew. Jayne's son or not, he still saw a lot of Reynolds in the boy. "Think you scared near ten years off your mother's life, runnin' away like that," Mal told him, not unkindly. A stray card popped out of Jesse's hand, flying across the bedspread. He met his uncle's eyes briefly before reaching out to retrieve it.

He set the pack of cards down on the bedside table, and gave Mal his full attention. "I know sir, I won't do it again." He looked so shame-faced and sounded so formal, Mal had to fight the urge to laugh. "See that you don't," he answered, keeping his tone serious. "Listen Jesse, I been thinkin', an' your mom agrees, that you could be takin' on some of the work on board Serenity." He watched as excitement flared in his nephew's eyes. "Ya mean like comin' on heists?" he asked his uncle eagerly. Mal shook his head. "I mean like keepin' the cargo bay squared away." Jesse's expression fell. "Oh," he said, sounding disappointed, then asked "am I bein' punished?" Mal shook his head at Jesse. "I'm makin' you an official part o' the crew boy. Up to you to decide if that's punishment or not." He wished his nephew goodnight and turned to leave, only to be stopped by another question from Jesse

"Uncle Mal?" he asked the captain from his bunk, "are you still mad at Jayne? Are you gonna kick 'im offa Serenity?" Mal faced his nephew and drew in a deep breath. "No, I ain't gonna kick Jayne off the boat" he answered honestly. A triumphant grin lit up Jesse's face. "I knew it!" he crowed happily. Mal quirked a brow at the boy. "You a reader too?" he asked in an amused tone of voice. Jesse laughed at the thought. "Course not," he answered,"but Jayne's my Pa. He's family, Uncle Mal. An' Mom says it's best to hold your family close."

Mal quirked a brow at the boy. "She say why exactly?"

"On account of them knowin' all your dirty secrets. She says there ain't no one can stab you in the back quite so accurate as your family. An' Jayne sure got some big knives, don't he Uncle Mal?"

Mal laughed out loud at that. "That he does, Jesse, that he does."

* * *

Chinese Translations:

Gan xie shung di! - Thank God

Tung si la - it hurts like hell

A/N: Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to read and review! I have started another story, a sequel with the same OCs, but I felt it was time to move this along and end it instead of continually adding chapters... I will post as soon as I can. Aiming for more Kaylee and Simon in the next one...


End file.
